Just a few days before turning 39, the captain reached 18 World Cup goals and expanded a collection of records that includes goals, victories, appearances, and captaincies
With 18 goals, he moved even further away from Gabriel Batistuta, who scored ten between the World Cups of 1994, 1998, and 2002. Diego Maradona and Guillermo Stábile follow with eight each.
6. Most matches as captain
The match against Austria was Messi's 21st as Argentine captain in a World Cup.
His first participation with the armband occurred in South Africa 2010. He was then captain during all the matches played by Argentina in Brazil 2014, Russia 2018, and Qatar 2022.
7. Most World Cup matches with Argentina
Messi's 28 matches also constitute the record for appearances by an Argentine footballer.
The captain had surpassed Diego Maradona, who played 21, during the Qatar World Cup. Javier Mascherano follows with 20 appearances.
8. Most World Cup goals after 35 years
Messi has accumulated twelve goals in World Cups after turning 35 years old.
Seven were scored during Qatar 2022, when he led Argentina to the title. The remaining five came in the first two matchdays of the 2026 World Cup.
9. Five goals in the first two matches
The double against Austria allowed him to match an Argentine record that had stood since the first World Cup in history. Guillermo Stábile had scored five goals in his first two matches of Uruguay 1930: three against Mexico and two against Chile.
Ninety-six years later, Messi reached the same figure. He scored three goals against Algeria and two against Austria, becoming the first Argentine since Stábile to achieve five goals in his first two appearances in the same edition.
10. The negative record of missed penalties
The historic afternoon also left an adverse statistic. Messi missed his third penalty during regular time of a World Cup against Austria. The previous ones were against Iceland in Russia 2018 and against Poland in Qatar 2022.
Thus, he became the player with the most missed penalties during World Cup matches. The statistic does not include penalty shootouts, in which he did convert important shots against the Netherlands and France in 2022.
Just days away from turning 39, Lionel Messi not only continues to participate in the World Cup. He remains its main protagonist and is forcing the record books to be rewritten.
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.
