The greatest player in soccer history has become the greatest goal scorer in World Cup history.
Lionel Messi scored twice, giving him a record 18 goals in his World Cup career, as he led Argentina to a 2-0 victory over Austria in Arlington, Texas, on Monday (June 22).
“I experience it as special,” Messi told reporters.
Messi’s historic outing came two days before his 39th birthday.
Miami, his adopted hometown, is ready to celebrate because he appears to be on his way home.
Argentina, with six points, is on track to win Group J, which would mean a spot in the round-of-32 match at Hard Rock Stadium at 6 p.m. Friday, July 3. The Group J winner would face the Group H runner-up. Spain leads that group with four points. Uruguay and Cape Verde are tied with two. Saudi Arabia trails with one point.
It appears fans are banking on Messi, MVP for Inter Miami, returning to South Florida in Argentina’s iconic colors. Tickets for the round-of-32 match start at $3,821 on the secondary market.
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Messi spoke to the media only briefly, restricting most of his comments toward the match in general. The other notable exception was when he referred to the one disappointment on the day — how he should have walked off the pitch with a second consecutive hat trick but instead missed a penalty kick in the ninth minute. Worse, his attempt didn’t even force a save by the goalkeeper. It was wide of the right post.
“Today there was a moment where I was really angry about the penalty because I missed it and kicked it very badly,” Messi said. “But, well, luckily we were able to turn that whole situation around.”
Not that Messi ever needs it, but the miss seemed to galvanize his determination even more. He struck in the 38th minute, then made it 2-0 on a rebound shot in second-half stoppage time. Messi exhibited boyish joy with the second goal, high-fiving photographers stationed behind the end line as teammates rushed to mob him.
His record performance came 20 years to the day of his World Cup debut and on the 40th anniversary of the legendary “Hand of God” goal by Argentina’s Diego Maradona.
After the final whistle, Messi stood arm-in-arm with teammates, soaking up the atmosphere with joyous Argentina fans. Many were indeed crying for Argentina and for Messi, knowing they’d witnessed history.
“Happiness, obviously,” Messi said. “A lot of happiness above all for the victory. A very, very tough victory.”
Argentina has five goals in the tournament.
Messi, leading scorer in this World Cup, has all five of those goals, surpassing the previous career record of 16 held by Germany’s Miroslav Klose.
Argentina can lock up Group J with a draw vs. Jordan on Saturday (June 27) in Arlington. Depending on the result of the concurrent Algeria-Austria match in Kansas City, it’s possible that Argentina can win the group regardless of its match.
Messi has scored in six consecutive World Cup matches. The only other players to score in six straight outings are France’s Just Fontaine in 1958 and Brazil’s Jairzinho in 1970.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: World Cup: Lionel Messi sets all-time record as Miami match looms
Reporting by Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
