Messi Breaks World Cup's All-Time Scoring Record With Double Against Austria

Lionel Messi became the highest goal scorer in World Cup history on Monday, moving to 18 career goals with a superb double in Argentina's Group J win over Austria and breaking a tie with Germany legend Miroslav Klose. The 2-0 victory in Dallas sent the defending champions through to the knockout rounds and handed the 38-year-old captain a record that had stood since Klose retired.

The afternoon did not begin smoothly. Messi missed an early penalty after VAR intervened to award a spot-kick for a foul on Lautaro Martinez, sending his effort off target. But the Argentina captain could not be denied for long, sweeping home a trademark finish from Facundo Medina's low cross in the first half before adding a second in stoppage time to seal the result and the record.

The brace took Messi to five goals in just two Group J fixtures, after his hat-trick against Algeria in the opening match had drawn him level with Klose's mark of 16. Competing at a record-equalling sixth World Cup, he has now scored in six consecutive World Cup games dating back to 2022, an extraordinary run of late-career production for a player many assumed had little left to prove on the sport's biggest stage.

His 18th goal also moved him clear of Brazil's Marta, the women's World Cup all-time top scorer, who has 17 — giving Messi the outright record across both the men's and women's tournaments. Argentina's win means Messi's pursuit of a second consecutive title remains alive, with the holders looking increasingly dangerous as the group stage closes.

Asked afterward to name his favorite World Cup goal, Messi said he was too tired to recall it, a candid admission from a player carrying his country's hopes deep into another summer. The Golden Boot race, meanwhile, is heating up: Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland also struck twice over the weekend, keeping pace with the Argentine at the top of the scoring charts.

For Austria, the defeat ended any realistic hope of advancing as group winners, but the night belonged entirely to Messi. From a missed penalty to a record-breaking brace inside 90 minutes, the performance captured why, even at 38, he remains the defining figure of the tournament — and now its most prolific scorer ever.