'PK miss angered me,' Messi confesses: "If I had scored that PK, I might not have scored two more goals"... Sets new record with 18th goal, the most in World Cup history, as a form of appeasement

*This content was translated by AI.

Lionel Messi (39, Inter Miami), who set a new record for the most goals in World Cup history, shared his honest feelings about his penalty kick miss.

On the 23rd (Korea time), Argentina secured a 2-0 victory against Austria in the second group stage match of the 2026 FIFA North American World Cup, Group J, held at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas, USA. The win was powered by Messi's two goals.

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

After the match, U.S. outlet Yahoo Sports reported, "While Messi was happy about breaking the World Cup all-time scoring record, he was furious about his penalty miss."

On this day, Messi scored two goals, following his hat-trick against Algeria in the group stage opener, recording multi-goal performances in two consecutive matches. Notably, with his 17th and 18th career World Cup goals, Messi surpassed Miroslav Klose (Germany)'s 16 goals to take sole first place in the all-time World Cup finals scoring list. This monumental achievement came after his first goal at the 2006 Germany World Cup, completed on his sixth World Cup appearance. He also leads the tournament's scoring chart with a total of five goals.

Before scoring the opening goal, Messi missed a penalty kick early in the match. 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 marked Messi's third missed penalty out of seven in his World Cup career.

After the match, Messi told Argentine outlet TyC Sports, "I am happy to have won fairly in a tough match. I have found peace of mind ahead of the upcoming schedule."

He also addressed the penalty miss. Messi said, "If I had scored that penalty, I might not have been able to score the other two goals," but added, "I was truly angry at the moment I missed it."

He continued, "However, we turned the situation around and secured the most important three points. It has been a difficult journey, but we are preparing thoroughly for every match, and as always, we are enjoying this stage in a special way."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.