Messi surpasses Klose's World Cup record: Argentina advances to knockout stage after 2:0 over Austria

The evening in Texas, however, did not pass without setback for the Argentine superstar: as early as the 9th minute, Messi had missed a penalty. The Argentine newspaper Diario Popular wrote on the matter: "Messi hat gezeigt, dass er ein Mensch ist." In the end, however, his two goals made the missed penalty forgotten, as the newspaper La Nación highlighted: "Lionel Messi war der Star des Nachmittags: Er erzielte beide Tore, machte seinen verschossenen Elfmeter vom Beginn des Spiels vergessen und schrieb erneut Geschichte."

A journey through six World Cups

Austrian defensive chief David Alaba prevented worse at the back. In the 19th minute, he poked the ball off Messi's foot; in the 32nd minute, he blocked a dangerous shot. Austria's coach Ralf Rangnick acknowledged the opponent's quality: "dass Lionel Messi der beste Spieler ist, den es jemals gegeben hat" – adding that he had impressively proven it once again. The Viennese newspaper Der Standard summed up: "Am Ende hatte Argentinien einen Lionel Messi zu viel."

The Rosario native will turn 39 on Wednesday, 24 June. At the finals in North America, being held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, he is appearing for the sixth time – and it is, by his own announcement, his last tournament. Argentina entered the tournament as defending champions and, after a second consecutive group-stage win, is now on the verge of reaching the knockout round. The next group match against Jordan takes place on Sunday at 16:00 CEST.

International press reaction

The international press celebrated the record effusively. The British daily The Guardian wrote: "Der unaufhaltsame Messi bricht den WM-Torrekord. Es musste Lionel Messi sein, es musste an diesem Tag sein und vielleicht musste es sogar in Dallas sein." The French L'Équipe put it: "Ein historischer Messi sichert Argentinien das Weiterkommen. Kurz vor seinem 39. Geburtstag hat Lionel Messi keine Zeit zu verlieren." The Spanish Marca saw in the moment even "eine unbewusste Hommage an die andere 'Nummer 10' und den 'Gott' des argentinischen Fußballs, Diego Maradona".

That symbolism was no coincidence: Messi's record fell exactly 40 years after Diego Maradona's legendary performance in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England, in which he first scored the famous "Hand of God" and then the "Goal of the Century" following a 60-meter solo run. The Swiss tabloid Blick accordingly headlined: "Messi krönt sich zum alleinigen WM-Tor-König. 40 Jahre nach dem Tor von Diego Maradona mit der 'Hand Gottes'."

Klose congratulates: A special gesture

Miroslav Klose himself reacted immediately after the match and congratulated his successor. The former German international striker, born in 1978 and currently coach of 1. FC Nürnberg, told the Süddeutsche Zeitung: "Lionel Messi ist für mich der beste Fußballer aller Zeiten! Glückwunsch, Champion!" Back in January, Klose had already told Sport Bild: "Ich bin sicher, dass mein WM-Torrekord demnächst gebrochen werden wird."

In the all-time World Cup scoring statistics, Messi now leads clearly with 18 goals, ahead of Klose (16) and Brazil's Ronaldo (15). Kylian Mbappé, currently under contract at Real Madrid, could also narrow the gap in the coming weeks. The Frenchman has already scored 14 goals in 15 World Cup matches – eight of them at the 2022 finals in Qatar, four at the 2018 triumph in Russia.

The all-time scoring chart

Beyond goals, Messi holds further records: 28 World Cup appearances, 18 World Cup victories, and over 2,400 World Cup minutes played – all records. The Argentine newspaper Clarín raved: "Lionel Messi, jedes Mal noch ein bisschen mehr Legende. Lionel Messi schrieb erneut Geschichte." The daily Olé judged shortly before his 39th birthday: "Unglaublich, Messi: Das bleibende Vermächtnis des Besten aller Zeiten." The Argentine Football Association wrote on X: "Ein unbezähmbarer linker Fuß und der ungebrochene Traum eines ganzen Landes."

Colleagues and companions joined in the congratulations. Former German international Thomas Müller said on MagentaTV that Messi was "galaktisch" and in his qualities "einfach, sauber und nach vorne denkend". His Argentine teammate Lisandro Martínez declared: "Ich bin sprachlos. Es berührt mich zutiefst, dass er Argentinier ist." His wife Antonela Roccuzzo posted on Instagram: "Was für ein Privileg mitzuerleben, wie du immer wieder Geschichte schreibst." Colombian pop singer Shakira, who watched the match from the stands, also addressed words to him: "So stolz auf dich, Leo, und auf alles, was du für deine Familie, dein Land und alle Latinos erreichst."

Voices from the surroundings

In the Argentine camp, relief over the sporting success dominated the evening. Messi himself spoke after the match of a "sehr wichtigen" victory that gives the team "Ruhe". Asked about his favorite goal among the 18 World Cup strikes, he said: "Ich kann mich gerade nicht daran erinnern, ich bin müde, habe wenig Energie und es fällt mir schwer, klar zu denken." He described the record itself merely as "Statistik": "Ich schaue nicht auf die Zahl. Es ist eine Ehre, neben Klose, neben Ronaldo und neben Mbappé zu stehen."

The run-up to the evening had, however, also caused irritation. On the fringes of the matchday, the Argentine streaming service Luzu TV falsely reported the death of Messi's father Jorge Messi (68). It later turned out to be a false report; according to sources close to the family, Jorge Messi is suffering from serious health problems. The incident illustrates the level of attention now given to every aspect of Messi's person.

The World Cup final takes place on 19 July at the New York/New Jersey Arena. Should Argentina defend the title, it would be the fourth World Cup triumph for the South American federation after 1978, 1986, and 2022. Until then, however, Messi and his teammates still have a few hurdles to clear – but the record of 18 World Cup goals is likely to stand for a long time. The newspaper Sport from Barcelona put it succinctly: "Messi ist jeden Tag eine Ewigkeit."

Outlook and further headlines

Off the pitch, the matchday also produced headlines. Germany's referee Bastian Dankert (46) was honored by FIFA for his role as a video match official at now three World Cups, making him the only official with such continuity. Meanwhile, Croatia's Luka Modrić, 40, is fighting at his fifth and final World Cup to advance past the group stage after a disappointing opening against England – on Tuesday the team faces Panama. Brazil's Vinícius Júnior, for his part, struggled with the pitch at the New York Arena, calling it "schwer bespielbar"; France's coach Didier Deschamps criticized a "besonderes Absprungverhalten" of the ball.

Part of the sporting backdrop was also a political gesture: before the match between Iran and Belgium (0:0), protests against the regime in Tehran became visible in the stadium. The Iranian team itself thanked the city of Los Angeles after the match with a handwritten note in the locker room, which it published via the messenger service Telegram: "Wir sind mit Stolz nach Los Angeles gekommen, haben mit sportlichem Fairplay gekämpft und verlassen diese Stadt mit hoch erhobenem Haupt. Los Angeles, vielen Dank für eure Gastfreundschaft."