Two days before his 39th birthday, Lionel Messi became the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer in Argentina’s 2-0 victory against Austria.
The milestone arrives a decade after Messi famously announced his retirement from international football following Argentina’s Copa America final defeat by Chile in 2016.
After missing a penalty in that shootout, as Argentina lost a fourth major final in nine years, Messi declared: “For me, the national team is over. I’ve done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion.”
His decision to reverse that retirement has since produced an extraordinary era of success for both Messi and his country, including two Copa America titles and the 2022 World Cup.
In Qatar, Messi scored seven goals including two in the final as Argentina claimed the tournament for the first time since 1986, lifting the trophy as captain.
Monday’s match against Austria fell exactly 40 years to the day since Diego Maradona scored twice in a 2-1 quarter-final win over England, and Messi marked the occasion by rewriting the record books once again.
A low strike in the 38th minute became his 17th World Cup goal, moving him clear of Germany’s Miroslav Klose as the outright top scorer in tournament history.
He added his 18th in second-half stoppage time, squeezing the ball past two Austria defenders from a tight angle to seal the points for Argentina.
BBC commentator Steve Bower called it “another immortal Messi moment,” while Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “We don’t have time to create statues for Lionel Messi or deep analysis for him in newspapers. We cannot keep pace.”
Remarkably, 12 of Messi’s 18 World Cup goals have come since he turned 35, with 14 struck with his left foot and four from outside the box.
Balague added: “He is enjoying it and this is the best thing. I have seen him play World Cups where he couldn’t last 90 minutes. Here at the end, he was running like anyone else, now he knows his body so well.”
Messi has scored all five of Argentina’s goals at this World Cup and became only the third player to score in six successive tournament matches, after France’s Just Fontaine in 1958 and Brazil’s Jairzinho in 1970.
Former Wales defender Ashley Williams said on BBC One: “Are we looking at the greatest player ever? It’s possible and definitely worth the debate. We might have just witnessed the greatest player that football has ever seen.”
Former England midfielder Danny Murphy agreed, adding: “Lionel Messi keeps getting in those great areas with the free role he has got. His football intelligence is off the charts, he just finds space and the timing is great from the best player I’ve ever seen.”
The evening was not without its imperfections, as Messi blazed a penalty wide in the eighth minute, becoming the first player to miss a spot-kick at the 2026 World Cup.
He has now both taken seven and missed three penalties in World Cup history excluding shootouts, more than any other player, and has also failed to score six of 31 penalties for Argentina overall.
Messi himself reflected on the miss: “There was a moment where I was very angry about the penalty, because I missed it and I took it very, very badly. Luckily we were able to reverse that situation, take the lead and get the three points.”
South American football expert Tim Vickery offered a poetic take, saying: “The gods of football obviously didn’t want him to break the record with a penalty, they wanted him to break the record with a goal from open play. Argentina have built the team around him and I just don’t want the carnival to end.”
With Argentina already guaranteed a last-32 place and Jordan next up on Sunday, Messi will have another opportunity to extend his record and potentially overtake Maradona’s eight World Cup assists, a tally he currently matches.
