Argentina moved into the World Cup 2026 round of 32 with a 2-0 win over Austria on Monday, and Lionel Messi scored both goals. The result also pushes the England World Cup knockout stage path farther into view as the first round of 32 games approach.
Messi’s two-goal night took him to 18 World Cup goals, the most in the tournament’s history. Argentina are guaranteed top spot in Group J, so their place in the knockout bracket is already settled before the group stage is finished.
Lionel Messi reaches 18
The match turned on Messi again. His brace gave Argentina the margin they needed and put them among the teams already through to the first round of the 48-team tournament’s knockout phase.
The round of 32 runs from June 28 to July 3, and it starts after a group stage that sends the top two teams from each of the 12 groups straight through, plus the eight best third-place finishers. FIFA is using head-to-head records before goal difference as the main tiebreaker for teams level on points, a change that can decide who stays alive when groups are tight.
Group J settled early
Argentina’s place at the top of Group J means Monday’s win did more than add another result. It locked the team into the knockout field with games still to be played across the group stage, and it added Messi to the center of the scoring race at the same time.
The path to the round of 32 has already produced a clear order of qualifiers. Mexico advanced after a 1-0 win over South Korea on Thursday, June 18. The United States followed with a 2-0 win over Australia on Friday, June 19. Germany moved through after a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast on Saturday, June 20.
Haiti, Turkiye, Tunisia and Jordan
There is also a hard edge to the standings. Haiti, Turkiye, Tunisia and Jordan have been eliminated because they cannot catch the third-placed teams in their groups, even though the round of 32 has not begun.
That leaves the remaining knockout places to be sorted by the same group results that lifted Argentina through. With the round of 32 opening on June 28, the bracket will keep filling as more teams secure places and others run out of room.
