Lionel Messi Makes History Twice On the Same Day By Scoring Two Goals vs Austria

Argentina beat Austria 2-0 thanks to Lionel Messi's brace. With this win the defending champions have now qualified for the knockout stage and look like heavy favorites to win the tournament once again.

For Messi, his two goals now make him the all time leading goal scorer in World Cup history overtaking Miroslav Klose's tally of 16 goals.

The first goal came in the 38th minute when the Inter Miami forward sprinted into the penalty area, collected a pass from the left and slotted the ball past the keeper to secure his place in the history books.

The 38-year-old then scored his second deep into stoppage time sealing the win for Argentina.

His tally now stands at 18, two more than Klose.

Messi could have broken the record earlier had he not missed a penalty in the ninth minute after a foul on Lautaro Martínez.

Messi Breaks Another World Cup Record

Along with breaking the legendary German striker's record, Messi also surpassed another World Cup milestone, further strengthening the argument of many who consider him the greatest player of all time.

LIONEL MESSI BREAKS MARTA'S ALL-TIME WORLD CUP GOAL RECORD FOR BOTH MEN'S AND WOMEN'S WITH 18 AND COUNTING pic.twitter.com/7EO4tbLXJj

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 22, 2026

His second goal moved him past Brazil's Marta, who has 17 World Cup goals across six tournaments to her name , giving him more World Cup goals than any player in the men's or women's game.

Argentina will now face Jordan in their final group stage match of the World Cup on June 27.

Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 12:31 PM.