An exhilarated Lionel Messi relished the “It feels special, but like I’ve always said it does,” achievement of becoming the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history following his two goals that secured a 2-0 win for Argentina over Austria.
Messi surpassed the previous record held by Germany’s Miroslav Klose, which was established in 2014, by netting his 17th goal just seven minutes before halftime. He later added another goal, sealing the match with the final kick. Earlier, he had missed a penalty, and he acknowledged that his decisive contributions were essential to erase the disappointment of that miss.
“Like I’ve said other times, I enjoy playing, having a good time on the pitch. I wasn’t necessarily having one on the penalty, but with luck we were able to work through that situation, take the advantage and leave with three points.” Messi shared. “I can’t recall right now, I’m tired, low on energy, and finding it hard to think,”
Known for his modest demeanor, Messi maintained a cool composure when asked to name his favorite among his 18 World Cup goals. “We knew it was going to be a game with a lot of intensity and we knew we wouldn’t be able to let our guard down,” he joked.
With consecutive victories in Group J, Argentina has secured its place in the knockout stage. “But yes, I’m happy. It’s important to us also to get the six points to have a little bit of a calmer week.” Messi explained. “I have no words to talk about Leo, it makes us all a bit tired,”
The head coach of Argentina, Lionel Scaloni, expressed that Messi’s remarkable performances have left him at a loss for words. “I’m so happy with his performance. He scored again. The team suffered and at times we created difficulties today. When Leo becomes active everyone activates. “When the team was having a tough time without possession of the ball he worked, he managed to steal the ball, you could see his level of commitment and there is a reason for that. He has commitment, this is what he generates.” he stated. “I’m so happy with his performance. He scored again. The team suffered and at times we created difficulties today. When Leo becomes active everyone activates.
“At his age, he continues to show his talent and all his magic,”
Julián Alvarez, who played a crucial role in the sequence leading to Messi’s second goal, also praised the superstar. “There isn’t much to say. We all see it, he’s the best in the world.” the Atlético Madrid forward noted. “We know Messi is on a level of his own and he showed today that he is the greatest,”
“In my opinion there was a foul, but the VAR was not brave enough to tell the referee about the foul committed.”
