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

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkLionel Messi scores his and Argentina's second goal [Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters]By Al Jazeera Staff, AFP and ReutersPublished On 22 Jun 202622 Jun 2026Lionel 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 itemslist 1 of 4‘I’m here’: Yamal scores, dazzles and embraces the spotlight in World Cup startlist 2 of 4World Cup knockouts: Who has made it to the round of 32 stage?list 3 of 4No pressure to pass the ball to Ronaldo, Portugal’s Conceicao sayslist 4 of 4Salah scores against NZ as Egypt records historic win at World Cupend of listThe 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 knock out 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. In the 19th minute Messi had a clear sniff at goal, only for Austria captain David Alaba to steal the ball off his toes at the last moment as he danced through on goal.Alaba denied Messi again just after the half-hour mark, blocking his goalbound shot with goalkeeper Alexander Schlager stranded.Ralf Rangnick’s Austria, who beat debutants Jordan 3-1 in their opener, were content to sit back. They did not have a shot on target in the first half.Messi celebrates scoring Argentina’s first goal [Troy Taormina/Reuters]Messi makes historyAnd then the came the big moment, Messi sweeping in on 38 minutes after being set up by Facundo Medina, with Thiago Almada cleverly letting the ball run through his legs to leave Argentina’s talisman all on his own and the goal gaping.The Argentina fans, who greatly outnumbered their Austrian counterparts, rose to acclaim their hero.Messi had equalled Miroslav Klose’s all-time mark of 16 World Cup goals when hitting a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria in the holders’ opening game.Lionel Scaloni’s side failed to build on their lead, and the second half drifted, with neither side creating much.If anything, Austria threatened slightly more, but Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was only once seriously troubled.And then up popped Messi to have the last word at the death.Julian Alvarez’s initial ‌‌attempt ‌‌was saved by Schlager but the rebound was worked to Messi who, after seeing his first shot blocked, pounced to drive in a low strike from six yards out that confirmed the points.Messi told Telemundo he was “enjoying the moment” and seeing how far his side can go.“I’m really happy about the win, especially as it’s such a crucial victory, hard-fought and well-earned, but one that gives us peace of mind for what lies ahead,” he said.“This is the World Cup; it was a very evenly matched, very intense match, and we’re happy to have picked up six points and to have already qualified.”