Messi sets World Cup scoring record as defending champion Argentina advances to knockout stage
Messi scored twice, including a stoppage-time winner, as Argentina secured a 2-0 victory and reached the knockout stage.
- On Monday, Lionel Messi became the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history by netting twice in Argentina's 2-0 win over Austria at Dallas Stadium. His 18 total goals surpassed Germany's Miroslav Klose, securing the defending champions' place in the knockout stage.
- The Argentine captain entered Monday's match tied with Klose at 16 goals after scoring a hat-trick against Algeria last week. Messi, who turns 39 on Wednesday, had been seeking to break the record since the tournament's opening fixture.
- Despite the historic performance, Messi missed a ninth-minute penalty—his third career World Cup spot-kick miss—stunning the crowd of 70,649. He redeemed himself by scoring in the 38th and 95th minutes to seal the victory.
- Argentina's clinical approach proved decisive as Austria manager Ralf Rangnick acknowledged his team's difficulty nullifying counter-attacks. The defending champions secured six points in Group J, solidifying their knockout stage position with one group match remaining.
- The defending champions face Jordan in Dallas at 9 p.m. Saturday to conclude Group J play. This final group stage match will determine Argentina's seeding ahead of the knockout rounds.
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Lionel Messi sets World Cup scoring record as defending champ Argentina moves on
ARLINGTON, Texas — Lionel Messi set a World Cup record with his 17th and 18th goals, and defending champion Argentina advanced to the knockout stage with a 2-0 victory over Austria on Monday. Messi had a golden opportunity to break the record in the ninth minute, but went wide to the right on a penalty kick. Almost 30 minutes later, Messi caught Alexander Schlager leaning the wrong way after Thiago Almada let Facuno Medina's pass go by him direc…
World Cup 2026 Argentina Beat Austria 2-0 as Messi Breaks Record
World Cup 2026 Argentina beat Austria 2-0 in Dallas as Lionel Messi scored twice to become the men's World Cup all-time top scorer and reach the last 32. The post World Cup 2026 Argentina Beat Austria 2-0 as Messi Breaks Record appeared first on The Rio Times.
Was this scene even decisive for the game? Austria loses its 2nd World Cup game against Argentina in Dallas with 0:2. Superstar Lionel Messi (38) is back...
Lionel Messi broke Miroslav Klose's World Cup goal record with his 1-0 hit against Austria. Günter Klein comments why the DFB legend is still ahead.
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