Lionel Messi stepped up to take an eighth-minute penalty against Austria, knowing that one goal would make him the World Cup’s outright leading scorer. He fired the spot-kick wide.
Thirty minutes later, it did not matter. A low cross from the right was dummied by Rodrigo de Paul, and Messi hammered the ball past Austria goalkeeper Alexander Schlager. His 17th World Cup goal, moving him clear of Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who had held the record of 16.
“Lionel Messi scored his 17th and 18th World Cup goals to become the tournament's all-time leading scorer for Argentina.”
“Another immortal Messi moment,” said BBC commentator Steve Bower as the Argentina captain added an 18th goal in second-half stoppage time, squeezing the ball past two defenders from a tight angle.
The brace secured a 2-0 victory for the reigning world champions and guaranteed them a place in the last 32. It was a far cry from the despair of 2016, when, after missing a penalty in the Copa America final shootout defeat to Chile, Messi declared: “For me, the national team is over. I’ve done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion.”
Ten years later, two days before his 39th birthday, Messi is still rewriting the record books. He reversed his international retirement and has since led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup — scoring seven goals, including two in the final — and two Copa America titles.
Remarkably, 12 of his 18 World Cup goals have come since he turned 35. Fourteen have been struck with his left foot, and four from outside the box. He has now scored in six consecutive World Cup matches.
“I enjoy playing and having a good time on the pitch,” Messi said. “We enjoy seeing the people like this too, being able to give them this kind of joy.”
Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, said: “We don’t have time to create statues for Lionel Messi or deep analysis for him in newspapers. We cannot keep pace.”
Monday’s game came 40 years to the day since Diego Maradona scored twice in a 2-1 World Cup quarter-final win over England. Yet even Maradona never held the World Cup scoring record. Messi now has 18 goals in 28 appearances at the tournament, with more to come as Argentina face Jordan next.
But the milestone has come amid personal difficulty. After his hat-trick against Algeria last week — which drew him level with Klose — Messi’s father, Jorge, was revealed to be unwell. A family statement said he is “currently under medical supervision, recovering, and progressing favourably”. Messi, who was left in tears after his record-equalling goal, had earlier played down the achievement: “It’s a statistic and nothing more. While it’s an honour to be able to compete with all of them, it doesn’t mean anything to me.”
He may dismiss the numbers, but the records keep falling.