Xinhua News Agency, Dallas, USA, June 22 — (Reporter Xiao Shiyao) In the second round of Group J matches of the North American, Central American, and Caribbean World Cup on the 22nd, Argentina defeated Austria 2-0, securing their second consecutive win and advancing early from the group stage. Messi scored one goal in each half, topping the World Cup all-time top scorer list with 18 goals.

In the first match of this World Cup, Messi completed a hat-trick, helping Argentina beat Algeria 3-0. His total World Cup goals reached 16, tying the record held by German legend Klose. Austria defeated Jordan 3-1 in their first match.
Right from the start of this game, Messi almost broke the record. In the sixth minute, Lautaro Martinez was brought down by a defender inside the penalty area after dribbling, and the referee awarded a penalty after a VAR review. However, Messi hesitated slightly when taking the penalty, and it ultimately went slightly wide.
It is worth noting that this missed penalty also created an unusual record for Messi — outside of penalty shootouts, he has taken 7 penalties in the World Cup and missed 3, making him the player with the most missed penalties in World Cup history.
However, the missed penalty did not affect Messi’s form. In the 19th and 32nd minutes, he had two good scoring opportunities inside the penalty area, but one was bravely saved by Austria’s goalkeeper Schlager, and the other was blocked by defender Alaba.
The 70,649 spectators on site did not wait long. In the 38th minute, Quandro Medina delivered a low cross from the left, and Thiago Almada cleverly let the ball slip, allowing Messi to follow up and score at the far post.
Just two days before his 39th birthday, Messi not only broke the World Cup all-time scoring record with this goal but also became the third player, after France’s Fontaine and Brazil’s Jairzinho, to score in six consecutive World Cup matches.
The rest of the match was uneventful, with Austria unable to create decent scoring chances, and Argentina controlling the pace of the game. Until stoppage time in the second half, Argentina launched a quick counterattack. Messi’s first shot inside the penalty area was blocked, but he followed up to score, making the score 2-0.
After this round, Argentina’s two consecutive wins gave them 6 points and secured their early qualification. Messi also leads the top scorer chart of this World Cup with 5 goals.
In the third group stage match on the 27th, Argentina will face Jordan, and Austria will play against Algeria. (End)