Lionel Messi became the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history during Argentina's 2-0 victory over Austria — but the moment was immediately overshadowed by claims from Peter Schmeichel that the record-breaking strike should have been ruled out.
The 38-year-old Argentina captain overtook Miroslav Klose with his 17th World Cup goal, rounding off a brilliant team move to put his side ahead. Yet the former Manchester United and Denmark goalkeeper, speaking to Fox Sports, argued that the goal should not have stood because of a foul by Alexis Mac Allister earlier in the move.
“Messi broke the World Cup scoring record, but Schmeichel says a foul should have disallowed the goal.”
“I don’t think that goal should have stood,” Schmeichel said. “Think about how they get the penalty, this is a kick from behind through Xaver Schlager. This is a free kick, Mac Allister has kicked the player down. That should have been a free-kick. Var should have taken that back. That is a clear and obvious mistake by the referee.” He added: “And for that I feel a little bit frustrated.”
Had the goal been disallowed, it would not have changed the outcome: Messi also scored in stoppage time to make the final 2-0. Earlier, he had a golden chance to seal the record from the penalty spot but fired wide.
“I’m tired and I’m running on fumes,” Messi said after the match. “It’s hard to think. But I’m enjoying this moment and looking forward to being with my teammates. It’s been spectacular how it has all unfolded. I had the penalty, which could have increased my tally or not. But perhaps the others wouldn’t have come, you never know. I’m happy with the team.”
Teammate Julian Alvarez was full of praise: “He continues to demonstrate, even at his age, that he has the talent and all his magic. There’s not much to say. We all see it, he’s the best in the world. It gives us peace of mind for what’s to come. This is the World Cup, everything is very close and very intense. That’s why we’re happy to have earned six points and already secured qualification.”
Argentina have already booked their place in the knockout stages after two wins. They face Jordan in their final group game, and could be confirmed as group winners if Jordan fail to beat Algeria.