Lionel Messi missed from the penalty spot, scored twice from open play, sent Argentina into the knockouts and rewrote multiple sections of World Cup history in the same match.
Argentina defeated Austria 2-0 in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group J clash in Dallas, with Messi scoring in the 38th minute and again in stoppage time. The result took the defending champions to six points from two matches and confirmed their place in the Round of 32 with one group game still to play. For Austria, who had started the tournament with a win over Jordan, this was a night of resistance without enough attacking quality. For Messi, it became one of the most statistically loaded matches of his World Cup career.
The drama began early when Argentina were awarded a penalty after Lautaro Martinez was brought down in the box. Messi had the chance to move past Miroslav Klose immediately, but dragged his effort wide. For a brief period, the record chase was delayed. But the miss did not define the night.
In the 38th minute, Argentina finally found their breakthrough. Thiago Almada helped open the move, Facundo Medina delivered from the left, and Messi arrived unmarked to finish first time. That goal took him to 17 World Cup goals, moving him past Klose’s men’s record of 16.
Then, in the fifth minute of stoppage time, Messi struck again. Julian Alvarez’s effort was saved, the ball eventually fell for Messi inside the six-yard area, and he drove in Argentina’s second. That goal took his World Cup tally to 18 and moved him clear of Marta’s overall World Cup mark of 17 across the men’s and women’s tournaments.
Messi Did Not Break One Record, He Broke Several
The goalscoring record will naturally dominate the headlines, but it was not the only major record Messi made against Austria.
The win itself was historic. After Argentina’s opening victory over Algeria, Messi had drawn level with Miroslav Klose for the most wins by a player in men’s World Cup history. The 2-0 victory over Austria moved him ahead of Klose and gave him the outright record for most World Cup matches won by a player.
His penalty miss also created two unwanted records. It was Messi’s seventh penalty attempt in normal World Cup play, excluding shootouts, more than any other player in tournament history. It was also his third missed World Cup penalty, moving him clear of Asamoah Gyan for the most misses from the spot in World Cup history. His earlier misses had come against Iceland in 2018 and Poland in 2022.
There was another age-related record too. Messi had already become the oldest player to score multiple goals in a World Cup match when he netted a hat-trick against Algeria at 38 years and 357 days. Against Austria, just two days before his 39th birthday, he bettered that mark again by scoring another brace.
That is what made the Austria match extraordinary. This was not only about Messi overtaking Klose in the goals chart. In one game, he became the outright men’s World Cup top scorer, the outright overall World Cup top scorer, the player with the most World Cup wins, the player with the most World Cup penalties taken, the player with the most World Cup penalties missed, and the oldest player to score two or more goals in a World Cup match.
It was a strange night, because it contained both vulnerability and inevitability. The penalty miss showed the one part of Messi’s World Cup story that has never been completely clean. The two goals and the Argentina win showed everything else: longevity, authority, timing and the ability to keep turning historic pressure into historic output.
Austria made Argentina work. Messi made the record books move.
