Messi becomes World Cup's all-time leading scorer

Lionel Messi etched his name further into FIFA World Cup history by becoming the tournament's all-time leading scorer during Argentina's 2-0 victory over Austria in Group J. The Argentina captain scored twice to surpass former Germany striker Miroslav Klose's record of 16 goals, taking his tally to 18.

Record-breaking performance

Messi missed an early penalty but recovered to beat Austria goalkeeper Alexander Schlager with a first-time left-foot finish late in the first half for his 17th World Cup goal, overtaking Klose. He sealed the win for the defending champions with a second strike in stoppage time, following up Julian Alvarez's shot to reach 18 goals.

Messi, who turns 39 on Wednesday, also leads the scoring charts at this World Cup with five goals after a hat-trick in Argentina's opening match against Algeria.

Klose's praise

Klose held the record for 12 years, scoring at every World Cup between 2002 and 2014. Speaking before the tournament, he anticipated Messi's achievement and told FIFA: "Messi is simply Messi. I've always admired the way he solved problems and the way he carried himself as a person, even on the pitch. He always brought his team to life. In 2006 he was on the bench and [Juan Roman] Riquelme played, until Messi was given that trust. What he then made of football, and the way he did it, I take my hat off to that. Huge compliment! I've always been a Messi fan, and now that he's standing in front of me, I have to say: that's not too bad either!"

Messi's World Cup journey

Messi has played in a joint-record six World Cups, scoring at five of them. His first goal came against Serbia and Montenegro in 2006. After the match, Messi was too exhausted to pick a favorite among his 18 strikes. "I don't know, to be honest, I can't remember right now," he said. "I'm tired, I'm running low on energy, and I'm finding it hard to think, so anyway, I'm just going to enjoy this moment, and I'm looking forward to celebrating with my teammates."