Argentina Player Ratings vs. Austria: Messi Breaks World Cup Record, Secures Knockout Round

Lionel Messi continued to take center stage in Dallas.

Lionel Messi is now the outright top scorer in World Cup history. | Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

The 2026 World Cup continued to be the Lionel Messi show as Argentina’s No.10 scored twice in a 2–0 win over Austria in Dallas on Monday to become the outright top scorer in the tournament’s history.

The victory secured Argentina’s place in the knockout rounds with a game to spare, and Lionel Scaloni’s side will almost certainly go through as the Group J winners, with Austria’s fate left to the final round of fixtures.

However, the machinations of the competition format played second fiddle to Messi, who was center of attention from kick-off. The soon-to-be 39-year-old missed a penalty after just nine minutes played when Lautaro Martínez was sandwiched by Xaver Schlager and Stefan Posch after going through on goal.

Everyone who had come to see Messi score his historic 17th World Cup goal—and go clear of joint-leader Miroslav Klose—were made to wait another 28 minutes, when he ran onto a pass that was beautifully dummied by Thiago Almada, sweeping the ball past Alexader Schlager.

Austria pressed high and proved an awkward, scrappy opponent, yet tired in the second half as Argentina held control. In the end, the day belonged to Messi, who bookended the game with another strike after some determined forward play right at the death.

Compete against the world. | SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

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One Thing We Can’t Ignore

The moment history was made. | Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

No player in World Cup history has more goals than Messi, who continues to defy age in a way that several immortality-chasing billionaires must surely be planning to study.

The Inter Miami forward danced and wriggled through the Austrian defense on multiple occasions, bagging his two goals with typically well-struck finishes on his 201st appearance for Argentina.

He has now given himself breathing room in the ongoing battle with Kylian Mbappé. The France forward now sits four goals behind Messi in the all-time rankings. 27-year-old Mbappé has time on his side, but these are unlikely to be Messi’s final strikes based on his form so far this summer.

Curiously, Messi also took the record for the most missed penalties in World Cups (three out of seven), having now skewed a spot kick in three separate tournaments.

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Argentina Player Ratings vs. Austria (4-4–2)

Argentina continues to be the team to beat. | Luis Cano/Jam Media/Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Emiliano Martínez—7.6: Precious little to do, making just one save all match.

RB: Nahuel Molina—7.2: Replacing the injured Gonzalo Montiel, Molina was combative and assured at right back.

CB: Cristian Romero—7.1: Appeared to be struggling with a knock when he was subbed off before the hour mark.

CB: Lisandro Martínez—7.5: Not much to do defensively as Argentina kept control after taking the lead, but was comfortable when called upon.

LB: Facundo Medina—7.9: Played the ball into the box for Messi’s history-making goal, assuring his place on highlights reels for years to come. Made a key intervention to prevent Austria going through on goal too.

RM: Rodrigo De Paul—7.1: Busy in support of Argentina’s more creative forward players, but far less involved than he was against Algeria.

CM: Alexis Mac Allister—7.4: Seems reinvigorated after a tough season at Liverpool. The midfielder ended the game was a pass accuracy of 94% and five of eight ground duels won.

CM: Enzo Fernández—7.7: Very solid in both directions, showing his defensive credentials as Argentina were content to sit back later on.

LM: Thiago Almada—7.2: Gorgeous dummy for Messi’s goal. The kind of dummy you can only play when you know you have Messi running behind you.

ST: Lionel Messi—8.7: What else is there to say? Messi was irrepressible in the first half, and decisive in the second. He might have had back-to-back hat tricks on another day.

ST: Lautaro Martínez—7.0: Won the early penalty after going through on goal, but created no chances and had no shots. The Inter striker can often appear a blunt partner for Messi.

SUB: Nicolás Otamendi (57’ for Cristian Romero)—6.2: 38 years old but still putting his body on the line. The veteran center back may find himself facing tougher tests this tournament if Martínez doesn’t recover from his injury.

SUB: Julián Alvarez (64’ for Thiago Almada)—6.2: Provides a different kind of outlet in attack for Scaloni, but was barely involved in his cameo.

SUB: Nicolás González (64’ for Lautaro Martínez)—6.6: Was almost put through on goal late on but couldn’t engineer the finish.

SUB: Leandro Paredes (82’ for Rodrigo De Paul)—N/A

SUB: Nicolás Tagliafico (82’ for Facundo Medina—N/A

Subs not used: Gerónimo Rulli (GK), Juan Musso (GK), Gonzalo Montiel, Marcos Senesi, Exequiel Palacios, Giovani Lo Celso, Guiliano Simeone, Nico Paz, Valentín Barco, José Manuel López.

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What the Ratings Tell Us

The day belonged to Messi. | Elizabeth Kreutz/ISI Photos/Getty Images

• Messi now has five goals in just two games at this World Cup—and none of them a penalty. The record-breaking phenom also boasted the most touches in the opposition box (8) and most shots (7).
• While Messi stole the show, Medina was an impressive supporting cast member, not only providing the assist for the opener but also the most defensive contributions of the match (9).
• Fernández continued to be an assured presence in the middle of the park, with five defensive contributions alongside seven recoveries and 10 passes into the final third.

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The Numbers That Explain Argentina’s Victory

Argentina is on the march. | Francois Nel/Getty Images

• Argentina was clinical in seeing off Austria, scoring twice from just three big chances in the match, while limiting its opponent to just one shot on target.
• The game threatened to get spicy on a few occasions, with Austria clearly attempting to disrupt Argentina’s flow and get at some of Scaloni’s more volatile players. However, despite conceding 13 fouls, only two Argentina players picked up bookings.

Statistic	Argentina	Austria
Possession	54%	46%
xG	2.65	0.50
Total Shots	12	6
Shots on Target	5	1
Big Chances	3	1
Pass Accuracy	89%	86%
Fouls	13	10
Corners	1	2

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