Argentina qualify for knockouts: Lionel Messi breaks men's World Cup scoring record in victory over Austria

95' What a story, what a day! Lionel Messi scores again and officially becomes the player with most goals at the World Cup, surpassing Marta as well. 18 goals scored in his World Cup career! 

77' Things got a bit tense between Laimer and Molina: both players received a deserved yellow card. 

65' The second half has yet to catch fire, with few clear-cut chances and a slower tempo than many expected from this clash between two winning sides. Looking to inject fresh energy into his team, Lionel Scaloni has turned to his bench. Julian Alvarez and Nico Gonzalez have come on in place of Thiago Almada and Lautaro Martinez, while Nicolas Otamendi was introduced shortly beforehand to replace Cristian Romero.

Same for Ralf Rangnick, who makes three changes and replace David Alaba, Stefano Posch and Paul Wanner with Marko Arnautovic, Marco Friedl and Alexander Prass. 

55' Marcel Sabitzer steps up for a dangerous free-kick and delivers a powerful effort on target, but Emiliano "Dibu" Martínez is equal to it. The Argentine goalkeeper reacts well to make an important save and preserve his side's advantage.

45' The first half is over but we are all still thinking about what happened as Messi made history again and scored his fourth goal of the 2026 World Cup after the hat-trick at the debut against Algeria. As our own Roger Gonzalez pointed out, this is an incredible milestone for his career: "The milestone further extends the storybook 20-year World Cup journey that began on June 16, 2006, when an 18-year-old Messi came off the bench against Serbia and Montenegro in Germany and scored. Two decades later, almost to the day, he opened the 2026 tournament with a hat-trick against Algeria, pulling level with Klose on 16 goals and surpassing the legendary Ronaldo of Brazil. All that was needed was one more signature goal to reach the summit of prolific World Cup scorers."

38' History has been made! After seeing an early penalty missed, Lionel Messi responds in the best possible way, firing Argentina into the lead and writing another chapter in his extraordinary career. With his 17th World Cup goal, Messi moves past Miroslav Klose and becomes the outright top scorer in Men's World Cup history.

31' David Alaba has come to Austria's rescue twice in quick succession, producing two crucial interventions to deny Lionel Messi and keep the score level. The match is still goalless, but the chances are starting to arrive now. 

23' Right before the hydration break, Austria had their first real chance of the first half with Sabitzer, but his attempt was denied by the Argentinian defense. The game is now getting much more interesting. 

20' Aside from Lionel Messi's early penalty miss, there has been little to excite the crowd in the opening 20 minutes. The game has settled into a cautious rhythm. Austria, however, are gradually growing into the contest. After a shaky start, they've begun to enjoy more possession and are looking increasingly comfortable in attacking areas, while Argentina have struggled to build from behind. 

7' Unbelievable! Lionel Messi misses from the spot, and the score remains 0-0 in Dallas! The pressure was immense. A goal would have seen Messi move clear of Miroslav Klose as the outright top scorer in World Cup history. Instead, he stays level on 16 goals, and the record will have to wait a little longer. Austria survive a huge scare, while Argentina are left wondering how they failed to take the lead.

5' It's a clear penalty after Posch brings down Lautaro Martínez inside the box. Lionel Messi steps up to take it... history could be in the making.

4' Argentina are demanding for a penalty, VAR check for a foul on Lautaro Martinez !

Everything is ready: the match is about to start! Stay tuned for all the action... 

Here's out the group looks ahead of the second game: 

1. Argentina - 3 points 
2. Austria - 3 points
3. Jordan - 0 points
4. Algeria - 0 points 

Both Argentina and Austria opened their 2026 World Cup campaigns with victories. Lionel Messi's hat-trick inspired Lionel Scaloni's side to a convincing win over Algeria, while Austria delivered a less impressive performance against Jordan but still found the net three times to secure all three points in their opening match.

Some new faces here compared to the team that won against Jordan in the opening game of the tournament: Marko Arnautovic will start from the bench: 

Austria XI: Alexander Schlager; Stefan Posch, Kevin Danso, David Alaba; Konrad Laimer, Nicolas Seiwald, Xaver Schlager, Marcel Sabitzer, Romano Schmid; Paul Wanner, Michael Gregoritsch. 

No major changes compared to the lineup that won against Algeria in the opening first round of the group: Leo Messi will lead the attack: 

Argentina XI: Emiliano Martinez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Facundo Medina; Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez; Lionel Messi, Thiago Almada; Lautaro Martinez

Date: Monday, June 22 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: AT&T Stadium -- Arlinton, Texas
TV: FOX (Eng), Telemundo (Spa) | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Odds: Argentina -175; Draw +280; Austria +480

Good morning from Francesco Porzio! Will Lionel Messi make history today? This is the biggest question of the match between Argentina and Austria, as the striker will have the first chance to become the player with most goals scored at the World Cup. Messi is now tied with Miroslav Klose for most goals in World Cup history with 16...