'Most goals in World Cup history' Messi, surpasses Miroslav Klose to stand at the top with 'career 17th and 18th goals'... Argentina crushes Austria 2-0, advances to Round of 32

*This content was translated by AI.

As expected, he is the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). Lionel Messi (39, Inter Miami) has set a new record for most goals in World Cup history.

Argentina secured a 2-0 victory over Austria in the second group stage match of the 2026 FIFA North America World Cup, Group J, held at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas, USA, on the 23rd (Korean time).

With two consecutive wins and 6 points, Argentina has secured its place in the Round of 32 regardless of the outcome of its remaining match against Jordan. Meanwhile, Austria finished second in the group with one win and one loss (3 points).

The decisive factor was undoubtedly Messi's footwork. Starting as one of the two strikers, Messi scored a brace, recording multi-goal performances in two consecutive matches following his hat-trick against Algeria in the group stage opener.

In particular, with his 17th and 18th career World Cup goals, Messi surpassed Miroslav Klose (Germany) of 16 goals to take sole first place in the all-time top scorers list in World Cup finals. This historic achievement was completed in his sixth World Cup appearance, starting with his first goal at the 2006 Germany World Cup. He also leads the tournament's scoring chart with a total of five goals.

Early in the match, Messi missed a penalty kick (PK). In the 9th minute of the first half, Lautaro Martinez won a penalty, and Messi stepped up as the kicker. However, his shot went wide to the right of the goal. This was Messi's third missed penalty out of seven in his World Cup career.

In the 19th minute of the first half, he also failed to capitalize on a chance created by a pass from Martinez, as his touch was too long and the ball was stopped by goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.

However, Messi finally scored just before the end of the first half. In the 38th minute, following a left-side cutback play from Thiago Almada to Facundo Medina, Messi immediately connected with a non-stop shot, sending the ball into the lower right corner of the net. This was the moment his 17th career World Cup goal was scored.

In the fifth minute of stoppage time in the second half, he completed his brace and his 18th career World Cup goal, sealing the victory. After Julian Alvarez's shot was saved by the goalkeeper and trickled out, Messi maintained his focus right in front of the goal. His first shot was blocked by the defensive wall, but he pushed the ball in on the second attempt, and the match ended with a 2-0 victory for Argentina.

Messi took full responsibility for all five goals scored by Argentina in this tournament, once again proving himself as the team's absolute ace and reaffirming his status as a god of football.

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*This content was translated by AI.