What happened on Lionel Messi's missed penalty? Argentina legend chance at history goes wide right

Lionel Messi is human.

After a World Cup-opening hat trick, Messi had a chance to become the competition's all-time leading goal scorer with an early penalty kick for Argentina against Austria on Monday.

Somehow, though, Messi missed.

The record would have to wait.

MORE: Lamine Yamal outdoes Messi, Ronaldo in historic moment for Spanish wunderkind

What happened on Lionel Messi's missed penalty kick?

Messi simply pulled it wide right.

His run-up had a bit of hesitation in it. It seems he was hoping that Austria goalie Alexander Schlager would lean one way or the other.

Schlager, though, seemed to hold firm. That may have put Messi off just a bit.

If he was hoping to decide based on a lean, there was no lean.

Instead, he chose to pull it, and pulled it too much.

MORE: Cape Verde captures the magic of sports

Lionel Messi missed penalty video

Here's how it looked on the Fox broadcast:

Lionel Messi penalty stats

Messi has made 116 penalty kicks in his career.

This was his 33rd career miss.

More FIFA World Cup news:

• USA, England can't actually play on July 4th
• Why Norway brought 600 pounds of salmon to the World Cup
• Eloy Room leads Curacao to astounding World Cup history
• It had to be Mo Salah for Egypt
• How Folarin Balogun's mom being too pregnant to fly led him to USMNT