India, July 8 -- Before masterminding a stunning 3-2 comeback win over Egypt, Lionel Messi had his penalty saved by Moustafa Shobeir in the 21st minute. Having already failed to convert a penalty in the group stage match against Austria, Messi became the first player in World Cup history to miss multiple penalties in the same edition-excluding shootouts.

But he's not the only player under scrutiny. Brazil's Bruno Guimaraes faced widespread criticism late Sunday when Norway's Orjen Nyland saved his weak stutter-step penalty. After blazing his effort over the bar against Colombia early Wednesday, Switzerland's Manuel Akanji now holds a rare feat of missing shootout penalties in both the Euros and the World Cup.

The alarm over penalties in...