ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Scoring goals and breaking records is what Lionel Messi does, and he is already doing that again in his sixth World Cup.
The Argentina captain has the World Cup scoring record all to himself after another standout performance, one that began with frustration after missing a penalty kick and ended in pure elation with another victory.
Messi, who many consider the greatest player of all time, scored both goals in his team’s 2-0
victory over Austria on Monday. That gave him 18, six days after his first-ever hat trick in the tournament had matched Germany striker Miroslav Klose's previous record for World Cup goals. Later Monday, Kylian Mbappé matched Klose's mark of 16 with two goals in France's 3-0 win over Iraq.
“Beyond anything I’m so happy for the win,” Messi said. “It was huge, tough and difficult. It would allow us to be relaxed to what’s ahead. All matches in this World Cup are very even, very intense. I’m enjoying this moment and craving to enjoy with my teammates.”
The first goal against Austria came in the 38th minute and two days before his 39th birthday, and amid the concern of an ailing father back at home. It was the sixth consecutive World Cup game in which Messi has scored — joining France striker Just Fontaine and Brazil great Jairzinho as only players to do so.
That was about a half-hour after he missed a penalty kick with a chance to match the record.
“There were moments when I was really angry about missing the penalty, but I was able to make up for it,” said Messi, who has won a record eight Ballon d'Or awards as the best player in Europe.
Argentina advanced to the knockout round by winning its first two Group J games. Messi also scored all the goals in a 3-0 win over Algeria in Kansas City.
Messi added his 18th World Cup goal in the waning seconds of stoppage time when he shot one through several defenders after his first attempt was turned away by goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Messi said in translated remarks. “The way things are going in the World Cup, the way it’s being played, it’s a very even game. No one is giving away anything.”
The goal record became Messi's alone in the first half when he caught Schlager leaning the wrong way after Thiago Almada let Facuno Medina’s pass go by him and directly onto Messi's left foot from about 20 yards.
“I have no more words to talk about Leo,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said through an interpreter.
As the ball went into the net on the record 17th goal, Messi ran toward a corner and thrust his right arm into the air to celebrate the mark with the decidedly pro-Argentina crowd among the 70,649 fans in the sold-out home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
“Someone who is 39 years old and can score two goals, and five goals overall at the beginning of the World Cup, well, that makes a difference,” Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said through an interpreter. “We knew that he is on a level of his own, and Lionel Messi showed us today that he’s one of the best, and he is the best.”
There had been a gasp from those same fans when Messi missed the penalty in the ninth minute.
His left-footed attempt went just wide of the right post. He is now 4 of 7 on penalty kicks in regulation play at the World Cup, with misses in three consecutive tournaments.
Klose played in 24 World Cup matches for Germany, which wrapped up his fourth tournament by winning the 2014 final 1-0 in extra time over Messi and Argentina.
In an interview published on June 12, Klose said he expected Messi to break the scoring record.
“With the larger field of competing teams there are more games and so more chances to score goals. And I assume Argentina and France will go far,” Klose told German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung. “That’s perfectly OK, the record will be broken eventually anyhow and Messi is welcome to be the one who does it. I’m a big fan of Messi, always have been. Messi is a genius.”
Messi’s hat trick in the previous game, in his 200th international appearance, came 20 years to the date of his World Cup debut in Germany, when he also scored. Monday was his FIFA-record 28th match in the tournament.
The penalty kick came after Lautaro Martinez was running free in the box and was tackled from behind by Xaver Schlager and Stefan Posch, the defender playing with a broken jaw.
Play continued for more than a minute with Martinez still on the ground near the goal. When the game was stopped for him, officials reviewed the play and called the penalty.
Messi’s father has been undergoing medical treatment for an undisclosed illness, the family said in a statement last week while not providing any specific details. The 68-year-old Jorge Messi has played a key role in his third son’s soccer career, acting as his agent and managing his business affairs off the field.
Lionel Messi was overcome with emotion after scoring his first goal against Algeria, and said after that match his tears followed some tough days not related to soccer.
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AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth in Duesseldorf, Germany, contributed to this report.
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
