Lionel Messi answered a missed penalty with two goals against Austria, and the second one moved him past Miroslav Klose for the World Cup goals record. The 38-year-old reached his 17th goal in the tournament, which put him alone at the top after sharing the mark before this match.
Lionel Messi and Austria
The turning point came in the 38th minute, when Messi scored his first goal. He had already missed a penalty, so the record did not arrive in a straight line. It came after the match had already asked a question of him, and after he had to reset before finishing it himself.
With one minute left in second-half stoppage time, he scored again. That second goal settled the record outright and turned the match into a two-goal night for the Argentina forward. The answer to how many World Cups has Messi scored in is now carried by the number 17, not by a shared tally.
Miroslav Klose and the old mark
Miroslav Klose had shared the previous record. Messi passed him with a performance built on patience as much as finishing. The missed penalty could have left the night hanging on one moment, but the 38th-minute goal changed the match script and the stoppage-time strike closed it.
Messi’s 22-year career has now produced the single World Cup scoring mark, and this match also added a rare layer of friction to the record chase. He did not take the cleanest route to it. He had to recover from the penalty miss, score once in the first half, and then wait until the final minute of stoppage time to push the total one step higher.
Argentina and Lionel Messi
For Argentina and Lionel Messi, the immediate takeaway is simple: the tournament record now belongs to him alone. The match also fit the pattern of teammates protecting him, with Emiliano Martínez, Nicolás Otamendi, and Rodrigo De Paul part of that frame around him during the tournament. The milestone is now fixed at 17 World Cup goals, and the record sits with Messi after a two-goal match that included a miss before the finish.
