Lionel Messi single-handedly seals knock-out spot for Argentina with another record-breaking performance

Argentina are advancing to the Round of 32 of the FIFA World Cup 2026, all thanks to Lionel Messi, yet again. The captain of the national team scored two goals in Argentina's 2-0 win over Austria in the second Group Stage match of the tournament and became the all-time top goalscorer at the World Cup.

Lionel Messi scores two goals to see Argentina through to the knockout stage

Argentina defeated Austria 2-0 in their second Group Stage clash of Group J on Monday, June 22, 2026 at the Dallas Stadium and their superstar Lionel Messi stole the spotlight yet again.

The Argentine talisman had a disappointing start after he missed an early penalty in the 9th minute and failed to put his team in front. But he more than made up for it later in the first half when he tore apart the Austrian defence and scored from 12 yards away in the 38th minute.

With this goal, he sailed past Miroslav Klose to become the all time leading goal-scorer at the World Cup, earning yet another Guinness World Record. He also became only the third player to score in six straight men's World Cup games.

A tough contest for Argentina

While Argentina came out as the victor at the end of the match, Austria, a relatively tougher opponent, gave the defending World Cup champions a hard time.

As a team, the Albiceleste lacked cohesion and made errors that could have cost them. However, a strong Argentine defence and poor Austrian attack saw them through.

To ensure a comfortable win, Messi doubled the lead at the 90+5th minute to end the game in style. He has now scored a record 18 goals at the World Cup with 5 of them coming from this edition alone. Messi, who turns 39 in two days, took home yet another Player of the Match award on Monday and is leading the Golden boot race currently.

Lionel Messi continues to be Argentina's saviour

All of Argentina's 5 goals in the tournament have been scored by Lionel Messi. It shows how much the team continues to depend on the player but more players must contribute if they want to win back-to-back World Cups.

Despite the impressive performance that stunned the world, Messi was not happy with his penalty miss. He shot the ball wide as the Austrian players celebrated. He has now missed 3 out of 7 penalties in a World Cup, another tournament record but one that the player would rather not have.

"Today there was a moment where I was very angry about the penalty because I missed it. I kicked it very badly, and well, luckily we were able to turn that situation around, take the lead and get the three points, which is what's important."

Argentina sit at the top of Group J, and with Algeria defeating Jordan in their second fixture, they will end up as group winners. Argentina will next meet Jordan in their final Group match on June 27, 2026.

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