Lionel Messi missed his second penalty of the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday afternoon – and the gaffe prompted a deadpan joke from Gary Neville that left his ITV colleagues in hysterics.
The Argentina captain saw his low effort saved by Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir in Atlanta during the last-16 tie, after Haissem Hassan was penalised for a foul on Nicolas Tagliafico. It was a miss that gave the reigning world champions an uphill battle, having already fallen behind to Yasser Ibrahim’s first-half opener.
“Gary Neville joked Donald Trump could take penalties after Lionel Messi's spot-kick was saved in Argentina's World Cup win.”
During ITV’s half-time coverage, Roy Keane admitted the panel had doubted Messi would score. “To be fair, we were watching it here and Wrighty – we didn’t fancy him,” Keane said. “We know his record isn’t great … for a great player – almost lacking belief in himself, it’s amazing.”
When the conversation turned to whether anyone could relieve Messi of penalty duties, Neville interjected: “[Donald] Trump?” The remark triggered laughter from fellow pundits Ian Wright and Keane.
Wright explained the impossibility of such a move, given Messi’s stature. “I can’t imagine anybody,” he said. “Can you imagine being in that dressing room? It’s like saying to [Cristiano] Ronaldo: ‘No, I’ll take them’. [Lionel] Scaloni’s not going to say that, either.”
Neville added: “They’re impossible, these players at that stature, to be able to communicate with around stuff like this. They want every penalty, they want every free-kick.”
Egypt doubled their lead in the second half through Ziko – his first effort was ruled out for a foul, but he soon made it 2-0. Argentina, however, mounted a stunning comeback. Cristian Romero pulled one back, Messi atoned for his miss by scoring, and Enzo Fernandez completed the turnaround to send Argentina into the quarter-finals.
The miss – and Neville’s Trump quip – will be remembered as a bizarre footnote in a match that could have derailed Argentina’s title defence, but instead showcased their resilience.