Messi Rewrites History With Record 18th World Cup Goal

Dallas stood still. Lionel Messi collected Rodrigo De Paul’s precise cutback in the 38th minute and curled the ball into the bottom-right corner — goal number 17, and with it, a share of football immortality. Then, with Argentina coasting 2-0 against Austria in Group J, Messi struck again in the closing stages to make it 18. Just like that, the man from Rosario had moved past Miroslav Klose’s record that had stood for 12 years. At 38, competing in what is surely his final World Cup, Messi delivered the most emphatic answer anyone could have scripted.

Messi’s journey to 18 World Cup goals began as a teenager in Germany in 2006, when he came off the bench to score against Serbia and Montenegro. Two decades on, he has scored in six consecutive World Cup matches since Qatar 2022, spanning five tournaments. Klose’s 16-goal record — built between 2002 and 2014 — had seemed untouchable. Messi equalled it with a hat-trick against Algeria in Argentina’s opener, then demolished it against Austria. The achievement also carries him past women’s icon Marta’s 17 goals, making him the highest scorer in FIFA World Cup history across both men’s and women’s tournaments combined.

Against an organised Austrian side that frustrated Argentina in the opening exchanges, it was Messi who made the difference. He missed an early penalty — a brief, tantalising delay to history — before producing two moments of class that settled the contest. The first arrived from De Paul’s cutback on 38 minutes, curled low past the keeper. The second came late, a driven effort into the far corner. Argentina win 2-0 and top Group J with maximum points. Julian Alvarez and the rest of the squad celebrated not just the three points but a moment that will define football for a generation.

Argentina advance into the knockout stage with momentum and a living legend operating at his peak. Messi now carries 18 World Cup goals into the round of 32, with the pressure and privilege in equal measure. Coach Scaloni will manage his minutes carefully — the quarter-final run is where it truly matters. But history has been written in Dallas, and the rest of the world’s defences know exactly what is coming their way.