Messi Becomes World Cup's All-Time Leading Scorer as Argentina Beat Austria 2-0

Lionel Messi is now the highest scorer in World Cup history. The Argentina captain hit two goals against Austria in Dallas on Monday evening to take his tournament tally to 18, moving him two ahead of Germany's Miroslav Klose, who had held the record since 2014.

Messi, who turns 39 this Wednesday, reached the milestone in the 38th minute of their Group J match. Facundo Medina played a low cross into the box, Thiago Almada let it run through his legs, and Messi swept it home first time from just inside the area. His 18th came deep into second-half injury time, when he found the net from a tight angle past two Austrian defenders.

The record could have arrived earlier, though. Argentina won a penalty in just the eighth minute after a foul on Lautaro Martinez, but Messi sent the spot-kick wide.

He made up for it in style. Messi now also leads the scoring charts at the 2026 World Cup with five goals in two games, following a hat-trick in their opening 3-0 win over Algeria.

Austria had a moment of their own before Messi's second, with Marcel Sabitzer firing a powerful free-kick that Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez pushed away to keep the scoreline at 1-0.

The win puts Argentina on six points and through to the last 32, joining Mexico, the United States and Germany as the teams already confirmed for the knockout rounds. They will be confirmed as Group J winners if Jordan fail to beat Algeria in the later game.

Argentina close out their group stage against Jordan, while Austria face Algeria, with both matches kicking off on Sunday, June 28.