Lionel Messi is now the leading scorer in World Cup history, men’s and women’s competitions combined, after netting twice in Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Austria in Group 10 in Dallas on Monday.
His first goal took him level with and then past Miroslav Klose’s record of 17 goals in the men’s tournament. The second surpassed Marta’s tally of 17 in the women’s game, which had stood as the overall World Cup scoring record across both competitions. Messi’s total now stands at 18.
The milestone almost arrived earlier. Messi was handed a penalty in the eighth minute after a foul on Lautaro Martinez inside the box, a call that Egyptian referee Amin Omar confirmed only after consulting the pitchside monitor. Messi skied the kick, his third missed penalty across World Cup history, following earlier failures against Iceland in 2018 and Poland in 2022.
Tiago Almada created the opening goal just before the break, driving into the area and playing the ball to Facundo Medina on his left. As the return pass came through, Messi, unmarked, stroked the ball calmly into the net. Austria’s David Alaba had twice intervened to frustrate Messi earlier in the half, but could not keep the scoreline level.
Austria pushed in the early stages of the second half, with Emiliano Martinez saving a set-piece from Marcel Sabitzer after Cristian Romero gave away a free kick near the area. The equaliser never came. Moments before the final whistle, a shot from Julian Alvarez was parried back to Messi, who, after seeing his first attempt saved, pounced to fire low from six yards and seal the three points.
Messi, who turns 39 on Wednesday, has now scored four and five goals across two appearances at this tournament. “We have already given the fans several moments of joy, but we will try to give them more,” he said. “What matters is qualifying. Winning every game is always in our plans.”
Austria, who had beaten Jordan 3-1 in their opener, finish the group phase with three points. Ralf Rangnick said his side “played with courage and boldness in both defence and attack” but acknowledged they could not prevent Argentina’s counter-attacking threat.
Argentina face Jordan in Dallas while Austria take on Algeria in Kansas City in the final round of group matches on Sunday.
