Messi Breaks World Cup Scoring Record vs Austria
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- Messi scored both goals in a 2-0 victory over Austria, reaching 18 World Cup goals in 28 games to overtake Miroslav Klose as the tournament's outright all-time top scorer.
- The record-breaking moment came on the 40th anniversary of Maradona's two-goal quarter-final against England in 1986, a coincidence noted by commentator Steve Bower as 'another immortal Messi moment.'
- Messi missed an eighth-minute penalty before opening the scoring with a low strike for his 17th World Cup goal, then added his 18th in second-half stoppage time from a tight angle past two defenders.
- Since reversing his 2016 international retirement, Messi has led Argentina to two Copa America titles and the 2022 World Cup, and has scored 13 of his 18 World Cup goals in that span — 12 of them after turning 35.
- Messi has scored all five of Argentina's goals at this tournament, sits two clear at the top of the 2026 goalscoring chart, and became only the third player to score in six successive World Cup matches (after Fontaine in 1958 and Jairzinho in 1970).
- The penalty miss made Messi the player with both the most penalties taken (7) and missed (3) in World Cup history excluding shootouts, though he became the first to score later in the same competitive match after also missing a spot-kick.
- Argentina have already secured a last-32 place, with Messi's next chance to extend the record coming against Jordan on Sunday — while he sits level with Maradona on eight World Cup assists, the next milestone in sight.
Why it matters: Messi now stands alone as the most prolific scorer in World Cup history with 18 goals in 28 games, and with Argentina already through to the last 32 and Jordan still to play, the 38-year-old has at least one more match to pad a record that may stand for generations — 12 of his 18 goals have come since he turned 35.
