Lionel Messi produced another historic performance as Argentina defeated Austria 2-0 in their Group J clash at the FIFA World Cup 2026, securing qualification for the Round of 32 and extending his record as the tournament's all-time leading goalscorer.
The result completed a remarkable turnaround for Messi, who endured an early setback when he missed a penalty in the eighth minute. By the final whistle, however, the Argentina captain had scored twice, moved his World Cup tally to 18 goals and guided the defending champions into the knockout stages with a game to spare.
Argentina began brightly and were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead when Lautaro Martinez was brought down inside the penalty area. Following a brief VAR review, the referee pointed to the spot, but Messi dragged his shot wide, passing up the chance to make history from 12 yards.
The breakthrough eventually arrived in the 38th minute and fittingly came through Messi. The 38-year-old initiated the move from midfield, spreading the play out wide and making an excellent late run into the box. Medina's low cross into the penalty area was cleverly allowed to run by Enzo Fernandez, whose dummy completely wrong-footed the Austrian defence. Arriving unmarked, Messi swept a first-time finish into the bottom corner beyond Alexander Schlager to hand Argentina a 1-0 lead.
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The strike carried historic significance, taking Messi to 17 World Cup goals and moving him clear of Germany legend Miroslav Klose as the outright leading goalscorer in the history of the men's tournament.
Austria attempted to fight their way back into the contest after the break. Stefan Posch became the first player booked in the match shortly after Messi's opener, while Lionel Scaloni introduced Julian Alvarez and Nicolas Gonzalez midway through the second half in an attempt to inject fresh energy into Argentina's attack.
Messi remained at the centre of Argentina's best moments. In the 73rd minute, his dangerous inswinging corner found Nicolas Gonzalez, whose glancing header drifted narrowly wide of the far post.
With time running out, Austria committed more players forward in search of an equaliser. Patrick Wimmer came close to levelling matters late on, but his header drifted narrowly wide of Emiliano Martinez's post.
That miss proved costly with Messi punishing the Austrians again deep into stoppage time. The move began with Argentina intercepting possession and launching a rapid counterattack. Messi slipped in Julian Alvarez through on goal, but the substitute was unable to convert the initial opportunity. The ball then fell kindly for Messi inside the penalty area. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner saw his first effort blocked before reacting quickest to the loose ball, squeezing a second attempt through the legs of Nicolas Seiwald and beyond Kevin Danso on the goal line.
The goal sealed a 2-0 victory, extended Messi's World Cup goals record to 18 and confirmed Argentina's place in the Round of 32.
The win leaves Argentina top of Group J with six points from two matches and mathematically guarantees their progression to the knockout stages. Austria remain second on three points, while Jordan and Algeria, both yet to get off the mark, are set to face each other later in the day and remain in contention for the second qualification spot.
Argentina will conclude their Group J campaign against Jordan, while Austria face Algeria with the last round of games set to kick-off on June 28 at 7:30 AM IST.
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