Messi becomes World Cup all-time leading scorer: How he stays at the

When Lionel Messi swept home a trademark left-footed curler in Argentina's second World Cup match against Austria, he was not just getting his team off to a strong start. The 38-year-old was also making history, becoming the World Cup's all-time leading goalscorer, and demonstrating that he still lays claim to being the king of world football. There was more to come as Messi fired home his second goal of the game from a tight angle past two defenders to wrap up a 2-0 victory and send the holders into the last 32.

Scintillating start to title defense

Messi is enjoying a scintillating start to the tournament as Argentina defend their title. With a hat-trick in the opening game, two goals and the record broken in the second, and a third game against Jordan to come, he is a strong contender for the Golden Boot, awarded to the top goalscorer at the finals — one individual prize he has never won.

Messi has now scored in six consecutive World Cup matches, a feat only achieved by two other players: France's Just Fontaine in 1958 and Brazil's Jairzinho in 1970. No player has ever scored in seven straight matches. The Inter Miami forward has also created the most chances in World Cup history; he is one assist away from providing more than any other player since records began in 1966, according to Opta. He currently shares that record with his idol, Diego Maradona.

New generation vs. enduring greatness

A new generation of superstars like Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Vinicius Jr may already be making their own marks on the tournament, but if they want to claim the crown, they are going to have to outperform Messi. So how exactly can Messi — who turns 39 on Wednesday and has been playing in Major League Soccer (MLS) for three years — still be delivering rampant, raucous performances on the biggest stage of all?

'I didn't think Messi could still do it'

When Messi — then aged 31 — and Argentina were knocked out by France in a seven-goal classic in Russia in 2018, the days of him delivering tournament-defining performances in the World Cup could have been over. But four years later he captained his country to the trophy in Qatar, scoring seven goals, and after a further four he has become the first ever player to score in six consecutive World Cup matches.

Olivier Giroud was part of the France side which went on to win that 2018 edition, and still playing in Ligue 1 himself at 39, can relate to Messi's situation and believes a player's competition with himself is more important than thinking about the younger generation.

"It's clear just how passionate Messi still is for football and you can tell it's in his DNA to always be a competitor, and to try and outdo himself more than anyone else," Giroud says. "Playing at a high level at our age, you have to pay close attention to your life hygiene — how you sleep, your diet, and taking care of your body, because that's the thing you rely on for work. The key thing is still having the desire, the motivation, the passion, to keep going."

Dedication and self-belief

Messi is not the only global sports superstar to have continued laying down gauntlets for younger rivals into their late 30s — tennis' Novak Djokovic being perhaps the most impressive example in recent years. But doing so requires a combination of relentless dedication to physical fitness and unerring self-belief.

"Players know themselves inside out by that age, so there's not a lot left to teach them about how to manage as they get older," says Michael Caulfield, a sports psychologist working in professional football for more than 20 years. "From a physical point of view, they take advantage of every breakthrough in sports science. But mentally, it's about whether they have the capacity in their minds to deal with the daily grind. They have to be willing to spend the whole year working hard on the same things, and if you've been doing that for 25 years, that takes huge self-discipline."