Lionel Messi became the leading scorer in World Cup history when he scored against Austria, taking his total to 17 goals. This achievement came after equaling Miroslav Klose’s all-time mark of 16 World Cup goals during a hat-trick win over Algeria last week. Playing at his sixth World Cup since 2006, Messi now has 121 goals in 201 games for Argentina.
Messi was tearful after scoring against Algeria and later it emerged that his father was recovering from an unspecified health issue. Despite personal troubles and a troubled build-up due to a hamstring niggle, Messi’s presence inspires his teammates.
“Anyone who thought this group was better off without Leo,” said midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, “today it became clear that Leo is the most important of them all.” Inter Miami attacker Messi had not even committed to playing the tournament in North America until the last moment. But nobody expected him to miss spearheading Argentina’s title defense.
Argentina can qualify for the next round with a victory over Austria and would be assured of finishing top of Group J if Jordan fails to beat Algeria later on Monday. After Klose, the next all-time scorer is Brazilian great Ronaldo with 15 goals, one ahead of Gerd Muller and current France star Kylian Mbappe.