Washington, June 23 (SANA) Lionel Messi scored twice as Argentina defeated Austria 2-0 on Monday to move closer to the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while extending his record as the tournament’s all-time leading scorer.
The match, played at AT&T Stadium in Texas, was Argentina’s second Group J fixture and secured a second consecutive victory for the defending champions.
Messi opened the scoring in the 38th minute before adding a second goal deep into stoppage time (90+4), taking his World Cup tally to 18 goals. The Argentine captain had already surpassed former Germany striker Miroslav Klose‘s record of 16 goals after reaching 17 goals earlier in the tournament.
The 38-year-old forward has now scored 18 goals across six World Cup appearances, including one goal at Germany 2006, four at Brazil 2014, one at Russia 2018, seven at Qatar 2022 and five so far at the 2026 tournament.
Messi matched Klose’s record during his 200th international appearance for Argentina, scoring a hat trick in a 3-0 victory over Algeria in his first match of a record sixth World Cup campaign.
Argentina moved to six points at the top of Group J and is on the verge of securing a place in the Round of 32. Austria remained on three points in second place ahead of the group’s other match between Algeria and Jordan.
R A H /ABD
