Lionel Messi breaks World Cup scoring record with his 17th and 18th goals in Argentina win

By — Stephen Hawkins, Associated Press Stephen Hawkins, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/lionel-messi-breaks-world-cup-scoring-record-with-his-17th-and-18th-goals-in-argentina-win Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Lionel Messi breaks World Cup scoring record with his 17th and 18th goals in Argentina win World Jun 22, 2026 4:01 PM EDT ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Lionel Messi broke the World Cup scoring record with his 17th goal and then added an 18th in stoppage time in defending champion Argentina's 2-0 win over Austria on Monday. The record goal came in the 38th minute and two days before Messi's 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. WATCH: How Americans are welcoming World Cup fans from across the globe Messi had equaled Germany striker Miroslav Klose for the most goals in the World Cup at 16 with his first hat trick at the tournament in Argentina's 3-0 win over Algeria in the Group J opener last Tuesday night in Kansas City. He first had a chance to set the record in the ninth minute against Austria on Monday, but he missed a penalty kick. Argentina advanced to the knockout round by winning its first two group games, with Messi scoring all five of the team's goals so far in his sixth World Cup. WATCH: Roger Bennett on what to expect at the World Cup Messi added his 18th World Cup goal in stoppage time when he shot one through several defenders after the first attempt was turned away by goalkeeper Alexander Schlager. In the first half, the record became Messi's alone when he caught Schlager leaning the wrong way after Thiago Almada let Facuno Medina's pass go by him and directly onto the Argentina captain's left foot from about 20 yards. As the ball went into the net, 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. WATCH: What to expect from the U.S. team as the World Cup approaches There had been a gasp from those same fans when Messi missed the penalty kick 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 scored his 16 goals while playing 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. READ MORE: Lionel Messi ties men's World Cup goals record with a hat trick as Argentina tops Algeria In an interview published on June 12, Klose said he expected Messi to break the scoring record. "I expect my record to fall in this tournament," Klose told German newspaper Sueddeut