Lionel Messi scores brace as Argentina beat Austria 2-0 at World Cup 2026

Lionel Messi became the leading scorer in World Cup history as the captain struck twice to give Argentina a 2-0 win over Austria and send the champions into the last 32. The player widely regarded as the greatest of all time pounced late in the first half in Texas on Monday with a trademark left-footed finish after neat build-up play. Recommended Stories list of 4 items end of list The predatory goal added to his hat-trick in Argentina’s opening match to make it 17 in total at World Cups. The 38-year-old then sealed the match deep in injury time after a scramble in the box, as he outfoxed four defenders who lined up to keep the ball out. It should have been even better for Messi, who missed a penalty early on, stunning a fiercely pro-Argentina 70,649 crowd at the air-conditioned home of the Dallas Cowboys. With both sides knowing a win would put them into the knockout rounds with a game to spare, Lautaro Martinez was brought down in the box, sandwiched by two Austrian players. Referee Amin Mohamed gave a penalty after a VAR intervention, and a wall of noise went up as Messi stepped forward on nine minutes. But his run-up was slow and his weak effort off target, dragging it wide. For all his brilliance, Messi – who turns 39 on Wednesday – is surprisingly poor from the penalty spot by his standards. He also saw his spot-kick saved by Wojciech Szczesny in a 2-0 win over Poland at the 2022 World Cup, where Argentina went on to be champions, and missed at the 2018 tournament. …