Lionel Messi scored a brace on Monday against Austria and took Argentina to the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup.
At the stadium in Dallas, Messi missed a penalty in the first half but then scored twice to seal the 2-0 victory. The first came after a move started by Thiago Almada and the second in the final minutes with an assist from Julián Álvarez.
With these goals, the Argentine reached 18 World Cup goals and broke Miroslav Klose's record. Argentina has five goals in the tournament, all by Messi.
The result puts Lionel Scaloni's side into the round of 16 and keeps Spain watching the group matchups. David Alaba and other Austrian players tried to stop the captain without success.
