Lionel Messi became the all-time leading World Cup goalscorer in the match against Austria. With this, the Argentine star is once again racking up impressive scoring stats in his sixth World Cup—so far, only one DFB striker has been able to keep up with him.
The record-breaking goal was, once again, a typical Messi goal: From the left side, “La Pulga” received a low pass while positioned slightly behind the defense; he shot directly with his left foot—after teammate Thiago Almada cleverly let the ball through—and found the left corner. It seems there’s simply no stopping him at this World Cup either.
The result speaks for itself: As of this Monday, Lionel Messi is the sole all-time World Cup leading scorer. In Argentina’s victory over Austria, he scored his 17th and 18th World Cup goals, surpassing Miroslav Klose, who had previously held the record with 16 goals.
“I’m obviously very happy that I’ve achieved all of this,” Messi said after the game. The Argentine currently has 18 goals in 28 World Cup games to his credit; the tournament in North America marks his sixth World Cup appearance. “I just want to keep going until the end,” Messi continued. For now, though, he’s simply enjoying the moment.
Messi on missed penalty kick: “I could have scored it”
With his two-goal performance, Messi was, of course, once again the match-winner for the Albiceleste against Austria; following his hat trick in the opener against Algeria (3–0), he scored both goals in the 2–0 victory—and did so despite an early miss from the penalty spot. “Of course, I could have scored that penalty, but oh well. Ultimately, I’m very happy that we got the result and that we won as a team,” said the striker, who has been dominating the game for over two decades and has been playing for Inter Miami in the MLS since 2023, and who turns 39 on Wednesday.
After just two games, Messi now has five goals, meaning the superstar has scored all of Argentina’s goals in the tournament so far (with a goal difference of 5–0), as the team has already qualified for the Round of 16. In terms of points, only one player at this World Cup has come close to matching him so far: German striker Deniz Undav has recorded three goals and two assists in his two substitute appearances.
But back to Messi and the Argentines, who defeated an Austrian team that held its own for much of the match and, as the defending champions, have already secured their spot in the knockout round. Messi called it a “big win—very important, very difficult. But also very nice. Now we can keep going.” He still has at least two games left in this tournament—and thus two more opportunities to extend his goal-scoring record.
His teammates, such as Leandro Paredes, agree that he can do it: “He’s incredible. That’s great for us, great for all Argentines, and great for soccer in general. I hope we can keep this up.” Because, of course, the goal is once again—just like in Qatar 2022—“to win the title in the end.” If necessary, they’d certainly be happy to do so with just Messi’s goals.