GUWAHATI: Argentina captain Lionel Messi created another piece of World Cup history on Monday, June 22, becoming the all-time leading scorer in men's FIFA World Cup history during Argentina's 2-0 victory over Austria in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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The goals helped Argentina secure a place in the Round of 32 with one group-stage match remaining. Messi's brace came after he had missed a penalty earlier in the contest.
The Argentine star has now scored in six consecutive World Cup matches, becoming only the third player in tournament history to achieve the feat after France's Just Fontaine in 1958 and Brazil's Jairzinho in 1970.
Messi entered the match in red-hot form, having scored a hat-trick in Argentina's 3-0 win over Algeria in their tournament opener. That performance made him the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick and the first footballer to feature in six editions of the tournament.
The 38-year-old forward netted twice in the group-stage clash, taking his World Cup tally to 18 goals and surpassing former Germany striker Miroslav Klose, who previously held the men's record with 16 goals. Messi's first goal of the match was his 17th in World Cup history, drawing him level with Brazilian legend Marta, the all-time leading scorer across men's and women's World Cups, before his second strike set a new overall benchmark.
With his strike against Austria, Messi has now opened the scoring in seven of Argentina's last nine World Cup matches, underlining his continued influence on the world stage.
The milestone came on a significant date in Argentine football history. Exactly 40 years ago, on June 22, 1986, Argentine icon Diego Maradona scored the famous "Hand of God" goal and the "Goal of the Century" in Argentina's World Cup quarter-final victory over England. Four decades later, Messi added another landmark chapter to Argentina's rich football legacy by becoming the World Cup's all-time leading goalscorer.