Lionel Messi once again turned a match for the Argentine National Team into a historic day and increased his importance in the history of the Argentine National Team and international football.
With two goals in the 2-0 victory against Austria, corresponding to the second matchday of Group J of the 2026 World Cup, the captain secured the team's qualification for the round of 32 and also broke, matched, or expanded ten records related to the highest competition in international football.
All the records broken by Lionel Messi against Austria
1. All-time top scorer in World Cups
With his two goals against Austria, Messi reached 18 goals in 28 World Cup matches.
The first allowed him to surpass Miroslav Klose's 16 and become the all-time top scorer in men's World Cup history. With the second, he also left behind Marta's 17 in the women's competition and took the first place in the overall record.
2. Most World Cup victories
The win against Austria represented Messi's 18th victory in World Cup matches in which he participated. The count only includes matches won during regular or extra time. Penalty shootouts are officially recorded as draws, so they are not counted as individual victories.
Messi achieved his first two victories in Germany 2006, added four in South Africa 2010, five in Brazil 2014, one in Russia 2018, four in Qatar 2022, and the two from the start of the 2026 World Cup.
3. Most goals to open the scoring
The first goal against Austria was the tenth occasion on which Messi scored the opening goal of a World Cup match. Ten of his 18 goals served to break the deadlock and put the Argentine National Team ahead.
The number 10 opened the scoring, among other matches, against Iran and Nigeria in 2014; Nigeria in 2018; Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Australia, Croatia, and France in 2022; and against Algeria and Austria in 2026.
4. Most matches and minutes played in World Cups
Messi extended the record to 28 appearances in World Cup history. He had already surpassed German Lothar Matthäus during the final of Qatar 2022 when he reached 26 matches. His performances against Algeria and Austria raised that figure again.
He also extended the record for minutes played. Before the start of the 2026 World Cup, he had accumulated 2,314 and, after completing the first two matches, surpassed 2,490 minutes on a World Cup pitch.
His journey began in Germany 2006 and continued in South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018, Qatar 2022, and the United States, Mexico, and Canada 2026.
