Lionel Messi rewrote the record books on Monday, scoring twice to become the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history and guide defending champions Argentina to a 2-0 victory over Austria at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas — on the outskirts of Dallas. The 38-year-old surpassed the 16-goal mark long held by Germany's Miroslav Klose, finishing the match with 18 World Cup goals across six tournaments spanning two decades.
The record-breaking 17th goal arrived in the 38th minute, set up neatly by Facundo Medina, with Thiago Almada cleverly letting the ball run through his legs to leave Messi unmarked roughly 20 yards from goal. The Argentine captain swept a low left-footed shot past goalkeeper Alexander Schlager, sending a crowd of 70,649 — packed into the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and overwhelmingly pro-Argentina — into raptures. He sealed the match deep in injury time, squeezing a shot through a cluster of defenders after his initial effort was turned away. The milestone came just two days before Messi's 39th birthday. It was the sixth consecutive World Cup match in which he has scored — a feat previously achieved only by France's Just Fontaine and Brazil's Jairzinho — and his 28th appearance at the tournament, itself a FIFA record.
The evening was not without its frustrations. In only the ninth minute, Messi had a chance to break the record from the penalty spot after Lautaro Martínez was hauled down in the box, but his slow run-up produced a weak effort that drifted wide of the right post. He has now missed penalties at three consecutive World Cups. Austria, managed by Ralf Rangnick, sat deep and offered little going forward — they did not register a shot on target in the first half — but largely kept Messi contained until that pivotal 38th-minute moment.
Messi had begun the tournament three goals behind Klose, equalling the German's record with a hat-trick in Argentina's 3-0 opening win over Algeria last week — a match in which he was visibly emotional after scoring. His family subsequently confirmed that his 68-year-old father, Jorge, who has long managed his business affairs and played a central role in his career, is undergoing treatment for an undisclosed illness. Klose, now a coach with German second-division club Nuremberg, was gracious in defeat, telling the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper: