Messi double sends Argentina into World Cup last 32

DALLAS: Lionel Messi scored twice as Argentina beat Austria 2-0 on Monday to secure a place in the World Cup last 32 with a match to spare, while also becoming the tournament’s all-time leading scorer.

Messi, captaining the defending champions, struck late in the first half and again deep into stoppage time in Texas to take his overall World Cup tally to 17 goals. The first came after Argentina worked the ball neatly in attack, with Facundo Medina providing the setup and Thiago Almada letting it run through, leaving Messi with a straightforward finish. His second followed a scramble in the penalty area, where he found a way past a line of defenders to make sure of the result.

The 38-year-old had a chance to score earlier but missed from the penalty spot in the ninth minute. The spot-kick was awarded after referee Amin Mohamed intervened following a VAR review when Lautaro Martinez was brought down in the area between two Austrian players. Messi’s effort went wide, drawing a stunned reaction from the strongly pro-Argentina crowd of 70,649 at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium.

The miss continued an unusual pattern for Messi from penalties at World Cups. He also failed from the spot against Poland in a 2-0 win at the 2022 tournament, when Wojciech Szczesny saved his effort, and also missed a penalty at the 2018 World Cup.

Record broken after early resistance

Austria, coached by Ralf Rangnick, had opened their campaign with a 3-1 win over Jordan and knew victory would also have sent them through. However, they offered little in attack before the break and did not manage a shot on target in the first half.

Before opening the scoring, Messi was twice denied. In the 19th minute, Austria captain David Alaba got back to take the ball off him as he moved in on goal. Alaba also blocked another effort just after the half-hour mark with goalkeeper Alexander Schlager out of position.

Messi finally made the breakthrough in the 38th minute. The goal carried extra significance because he had already matched Miroslav Klose’s previous World Cup scoring record of 16 with a hat-trick in Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Algeria in their opening game. Monday’s first goal moved him clear on his own with 17.

Messi was tearful after scoring in Argentina’s opening match, and it later emerged that his father is recovering from an unspecified health issue. The Inter Miami forward had delayed committing to the tournament in North America until late, although he remained central to Argentina’s bid to defend the title they won four years ago.

Argentina close it out late

Lionel Scaloni’s team did not add much attacking pressure after going ahead, and the second half passed with limited chances at either end. Austria posed slightly more of a threat after the interval, but Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was only seriously tested once.

Any lingering doubt over the outcome was removed in stoppage time, when Messi struck again to cap the win. Argentina, who began their campaign by beating Algeria 3-0, are now through to the knockout phase, while Austria will have to wait until their final group game to try to join them.