LIONEL MESSI’S difficult Copa America continued last night as he fluffed a panenka penalty against Ecuador.
Messi, 37, has been nursing a thigh complaint throughout the tournament which forced him to miss Argentina‘s final group stage game against Peru.
The injury has stopped him being at his fluent best and he endured another tough game against Ecuador in the quarter-final.
Argentina led for most of the game after Manchester United‘s Lisandro Martinez opened the scoring in the 35th minute.
But a late Kevin Rodriguez goal for Ecuador ensured the game went to penalties after 90 minutes.
Up first for the Argentinians was their captain Messi, who attempted a panenka which struck the cross bar.
Despite his miss, Ecuador were unable to make good on their advantage, and went on to lose the shoot-out 4-2.
Aston Villa‘s Emi Martinez was the hero of the game, with the keeper saving Ecuador’s first two spot-kicks.
He has a remarkable record of saving from the spot for Argentina, saving 12 of the 24 penalties he has faced for his country.
Messi, like Cristiano Ronaldo, has managed one assist so far in their respective international tournaments.
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Both have looked their age to some extent with their team-mates stepping up to get them through their knockout fixtures.
In response to Messi’s attempted panenka, one fan on X wrote: “It’s simply not Lionel Messi‘s tournament so far. He arrived with discomfort and he played this game again with discomfort.
“He took Argentina by the hand in their last 2 tournaments and now his team takes him by the hand, that’s the beauty of this sport.”
Another wrote: “Previous Argentina squad would have failed him but this set is unique.”
A third said: “Never seen these excuses for Ronaldo. But the greatest do it regardless of their circumstances 
”
Ronaldo memorably broke down in tears during Portugal’s last game against Slovenia.
Like Argentina, the Portuguese needed penalties to advance past their opponents.
Portugal take on France in the Euros quarter-finals at 8pm on Thursday.
EXPERT football psychologist Professor Geir Jordet has told Gareth Southgate and his players what they can do to give themselves the best chance of victory in any shootouts.
And he has even thrown in a rogue, bold suggestion for the Three Lions manager…
1. START PLANNING LAST YEAR
“It’s about planning for the opposition’s penalty takers but also ‘how do we win the psychological game against each opponent?’
2. SMART SOUTHGATE LEADERSHIP
“Southgate will have two minutes to influence his players as effectively as possible, show he has a plan and get confidence across.”
3. DICTATE AS A TEAM
“A shootout is really a team performance. Have the goalkeeper walk with the penalty taker into the penalty area to basically create a two-versus-one against the other goalkeeper. Dominate the centre circle, support the players who missed.”
4. ‘BULLETPROOF’ INDIVIDUAL ROUTINES
“Have really good, individualised and rehearsed pre-shot routines that are bulletproof and polished so they’re more likely to be able to resist the stress and more likely to score.”
5. SHOOT YOUR SHOT
“Practise the shot itself, trying to simulate penalty shootouts in training. Even recreating 20 per cent of a Euros final penalty shootout is going to have a benefit for your performance.”
AND A JOR DROPPING IDEA…
Jordan Pickford is the No1 but Dean Henderson actually has a far better penalty record – saving 8/22 (36 per cent) compared to Pickford’s 8/62 (13 per cent).
Jordet said: “One could consider making a late substitution for a penalty shootout. I doubt that they dare to do it in case it fails and the pressure is even higher but it would be a very ballsy move.”
