TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Argentina captain Lionel Messi turned his missed penalty against Austria into motivation as he scored twice to secure a 2-0 victory in their second Group J match of the 2026 World Cup at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday.
Messi failed to convert from the spot in the ninth minute after his shot went wide. However, the 38-year-old forward said the miss may have helped him find the back of the net twice later in the match, scoring in the 38th minute and deep into stoppage time.
"I’m making the most of the moment and I want to see how far we can go together. Today, there was that [missed] penalty, but perhaps I wouldn’t have scored the other goals if it had gone in," Messi said, as quoted by FIFA's official website on Tuesday.
The brace continued Messi's impressive start to the tournament after he scored a hat-trick in Argentina's opening 3-0 win over Algeria.
His two goals against Austria took his World Cup tally to 18 goals, making him the tournament's all-time leading scorer, surpassing Germany's Miroslav Klose, who previously held the record with 16 goals.
With five goals at the 2026 World Cup, Messi is also currently leading the tournament's scoring chart, one goal ahead of France's Kylian Mbappe and Norway's Erling Haaland, who both have four goals.
Asked which of his World Cup goals was the best, Messi admitted he was struggling to pick one.
"Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t really even remember them. I’m tired, I don’t have much energy left and I’m finding it hard to think straight. I’m just going to enjoy this moment and celebrate it with my team-mates," he said.
Messi has now featured in six editions of the World Cup, matching the record for the most appearances in the competition's history. He has scored in five different editions, with his first World Cup goal coming against Serbia and Montenegro in the 2006 tournament.
Messi's latest records also helped Argentina secure progress to the knockout stage. La Albiceleste currently sit at the top of Group J with six points.
Argentina became the latest team to advance, following Mexico, the United States, and Germany, with France and Norway also securing qualification afterward.
Read: Lionel Messi's Net Worth Hits Billionaire Status
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