Lionel Messi once again turned an Argentina national team match into a historic event and increased his importance in the history of the Argentine national team and international football.
With two goals in the 2-0 victory over Austria, corresponding to the second matchday of Group J of the 2026 World Cup, the captain secured the qualification of Lionel Scaloni’s team to the round of 32 and also broke, equaled or extended ten records related to the top international competition.
With his two goals against Austria, Messi reached 18 goals in 28 World Cup matches. The first allowed him to surpass Miroslav Klose’s 16 and become the all-time top scorer in men’s World Cup history. With the second, he also left behind Marta’s 17 in the women’s competition and moved into first place in the overall standings.
The success against Austria represented Messi’s 18th victory in World Cup matches in which he participated. The calculation only includes matches won during regular or extra time. Penalty shootouts officially count as draws, so they are not added as individual wins. Messi earned his first two wins in Germany 2006, added four in South Africa 2010, five in Brazil 2014, one in Russia 2018, four in Qatar 2022 and the two from the start of the 2026 World Cup.
The first goal against Austria was the tenth time Messi scored the opening goal of a World Cup match. Ten of his 18 goals served to break the deadlock and put the Argentine national team ahead. The number 10 opened the scoring, among other matches, against Iran and Nigeria in 2014; Nigeria in 2018; Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Australia, Croatia and France in 2022; and against Algeria and Austria in 2026.
Messi extended his record of appearances in World Cup history to 28. He had already surpassed German Lothar Matthäus during the Qatar 2022 final, when he reached 26 matches. His performances against Algeria and Austria raised that number again. He also extended the record for minutes played. Before the start of the 2026 World Cup, he had accumulated 2,314 and, after completing the first two matches, surpassed 2,490 minutes on a World Cup pitch. His journey began in Germany 2006 and continued in South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018, Qatar 2022 and the United States, Mexico and Canada 2026.
With 18 goals, he moved even further away from Gabriel Batistuta, who scored ten between the 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cups. Further behind are Diego Maradona and Guillermo Stábile, both with eight. The match against Austria was Messi’s 21st as Argentine captain in a World Cup. His first appearance with the armband came in South Africa 2010. He then captained Argentina in all matches played in Brazil 2014, Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022. Messi’s 28 matches also constitute the record for appearances by an Argentine footballer. The captain had surpassed Diego Maradona, who played 21, during the Qatar World Cup. Javier Mascherano follows with 20 appearances.
Messi has accumulated twelve goals in World Cups after turning 35. Seven were scored during Qatar 2022, when he led Argentina to the title. The remaining five came in the first two matchdays of the 2026 World Cup. The brace against Austria allowed him to equal an Argentine record that had stood since the first World Cup in history. Guillermo Stábile had scored five goals in his first two matches of Uruguay 1930: three against Mexico and two against Chile. Ninety-six years later, Messi reached the same number. He scored three goals against Algeria and two against Austria, becoming the first Argentine since Stábile to score five goals in his first two appearances in a single edition.
The historic afternoon also left an adverse statistic. Messi missed his third penalty during regular time in a World Cup against Austria. The previous ones were against Iceland in Russia 2018 and against Poland in Qatar 2022. Thus, he became the player with the most missed penalties during World Cup matches. The statistic does not include penalty shootouts, in which he did convert important kicks against the Netherlands and France in 2022.
Days before turning 39, Lionel Messi not only continues to participate in the World Cup. He remains its main protagonist and forces the record books to be rewritten.
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para mi messi es un dios loko klose y marta son unos muertos al lado del goat 18 goles mundialistas capitanias todo records los zurdos y forros q lo critican deberian chuparse una pija argentina campeon carajo vamos messi rompela toda fiestaca en la 9 de julio aguanten los q aman a la patria y al futbol
Para mí esto huele a la élite europea llorando porque Messi les rompe el culo. Austria? Ni existieron, son un invento de la FIFA. Este crack es del pueblo, no de los gorilas. Vamos Argentina carajo, a seguir humillando a los vendepatria!