There stood 38-year-old Lionel Messi by the penalty spot, poised for yet another flashbulb moment in a career already overflowing with them. Just a few days removed from his first World Cup hat-trick – one that had thrust him into co-ownership of the all-time tournament goalscoring record – Messi had been gifted an opportunity to notch his 17th goal and stand atop the mountain alone. Calmly, coolly, he approached the ball. And then he missed the goal entirely.
Messi’s camp had put out a statement last week announcing that his father, Jorge, is “going through a health situation”, understandably offering little more detail. It has led to rampant speculation, particularly in Argentina, where one television reporter resigned after falsely reporting Messi Sr’s death. Jorge Messi is a formative figure in his son’s life, his first coach, his confidant and, for the entirety of his career, his agent.
“Lionel Messi scored twice to become the World Cup's all-time top scorer as Argentina beat Austria 2-0.”
Messi approached the precipice of the goalscoring record again a quarter of an hour later, bringing all of the stadium to its feet with a nifty, dizzying run in the box. His finish, though, was cleared off the goalline. Moments later, he was dispossessed. He spent long stretches of the first half hour wandering the pitch, drifting in and out of action, not entirely unusual at this late stage of his career. Austria were surprisingly assertive. Slowly, surely, one began to wonder – was this simply not Messi’s day?
It is almost always Messi’s day, of course. In the 38th minute, he ran into a pocket of space just outside the box, the same one he almost always does, exploiting a perfectly executed dummy by Thiago Almada and smashing in an inch-perfect finish. He ran, screaming, to the corner flag. Last week’s trio of celebrations felt filled with joy. This one felt angrier.
Messi had the perfect chance to become the leading scorer in World Cup history as Argentina were handed an early penalty but fired his effort wide. The Argentine icon continued to be the main threat for his nation and eventually got his moment in the 38th minute as he swept home. He then doubled his evening’s work with his 18th goal at World Cups as Argentina took control of Group J.
His second goal came at the death, with just a minute left in second-half stoppage time. Messi has become much more of a provider late in his career and he played a perfect ball across to Julián Alvarez in the area. Alvarez did poorly with his effort but Messi ran on to the rebound and rounded the keeper. His first effort was blocked by a sea of defenders but he persisted, falling to score at the second attempt.
Argentina won 2-0 at Dallas Stadium, securing their place in the round of 32. Lionel Scaloni’s side will be confirmed as group winners should Jordan fail to beat Algeria. Austria still have work to do to reach the next round.