The Argentina captain’s brace against Austria took his career tally to 18 goals, two clear of Germany legend Miroslav Klose, who had held the record since 2014 and shared it briefly with Messi just days earlier following his hat-trick against Algeria.
The breakthrough came on the eve of his 39th birthday, and at that age, Messi shows no sign of slowing down.
The numbers around this tournament alone are extraordinary. Messi has scored in six consecutive World Cup matches, a feat managed by only two other players in tournament history – France’s Just Fontaine and Brazil’s Jairzinho.
His five goals here have come amid a difficult build-up, including a hamstring injury before the tournament and a missed penalty against Austria, his third spot-kick failure at a World Cup. None of it has stopped him.
Records continue to fall around him with each passing match. The Algeria hat-trick alone pushed his combined goals and assists past Pele’s long-standing mark of 21, while also making him the first player to score against 11 different World Cup opponents, ahead of Jurgen Klinsmann and Ronaldo Nazario on 10 each.
What remains is the assist record. Diego Maradona’s mark still sits ahead of him, one of the few World Cup landmarks yet to fall to the man currently rewriting the record books in real time.
With Argentina already through to the Round of 32, the question is no longer whether Messi will add to his tally, but by how much.
Photo: REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
