Messi breaks World Cup scoring record as Argentina advance

Lionel Messi scored twice as Argentina beat Austria in Group J and secured a place in the World Cup round of 32, AFP reported. The goals took the Argentina captain to 18 career World Cup goals, making him the competition’s all-time leading scorer in his record sixth appearance at the tournament.

Messi opened Argentina’s scoring in the 38th minute at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas, after Facundo Medina set him up, according to AFP. He added another goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time, finishing through a crowd of Austria defenders.

The performance came after an uneven start for Messi. AFP reported that he missed an early penalty that would have moved him past Miroslav Klose on the World Cup scoring list, and Messi later said he was “very angry” with himself.

Austria captain David Alaba then stopped Messi twice before the Argentine forward found the net. The crowd of about 70,000 was largely made up of Argentina supporters, AFP reported.

Austria had planned for Messi’s movement

Austria coach Ralf Rangnick had described the challenge of defending Messi before the match, saying the forward no longer covers ground in the same way he did earlier in his career. Rangnick said Messi can spend time wide or near goal, sometimes in offside positions, which can reduce Argentina’s counter-pressing but make him harder to mark.

“That makes him so dangerous, because he might be in a position, free in a position, and we need to be prepared for that,” Rangnick said, according to AFP. He said Austria needed to limit transition moments and avoid allowing Messi time to receive the ball in space.

That warning became central to the match. AFP reported that Messi had moved into open space before scoring his first goal, finishing with his left foot after Medina’s pass.

Scaloni praises Messi’s work

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, who played with Messi at the 2006 World Cup, has built the team in a way that lets others carry much of the running around him, AFP reported. Scaloni said Messi still contributed when Argentina had to defend without the ball against Austria.

“Today, when the team was struggling without possession, he put in the work,” Scaloni said, according to AFP. “You could see his commitment, that speaks volumes about him.”

Messi now has five goals at this World Cup, AFP reported. He had already scored a hat-trick in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria, the first World Cup treble of his career.

Spanish journalist Guillem Balague, who has written a biography of Messi, said before the tournament in a BBC column that the current version of Messi is different from the player who emerged at Barcelona in the early 2000s. Balague wrote that Messi has repeatedly reshaped his game, adding that he walks more than he runs but “still sees everything first.”

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.