Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Argentina's forward #10 Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the 2026 World Cup Group J football match between Argentina and Austria at the Dallas Stadium in Arlington on June 22, 2026.  (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)

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<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1782176208446AFP__20260622__B7X88DX__v1__HighRes__FblWc2026Match43ArgAut.jpg" style="width:960px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Argentina&#x27;s forward #10 Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring his team&#x27;s second goal during the 2026 World Cup Group J football match between Argentina and Austria at the Dallas Stadium in Arlington on June 22, 2026. <em>Photo by Paul Ellis/AFP</em></span></span></span></div><p>LOS ANGELES, United States — Lionel Messi became the World Cup&#x27;s all-time leading goalscorer on Monday to fire Argentina into the last 32 as weather chaos temporarily halted France&#x27;s bid to join the South Americans in the knockout rounds.</p><p>Messi, who had tied Miroslav Klose&#x27;s record of 16 goals with a brilliant hat-trick against Algeria last week, bagged the 17th and 18th goals of his World Cup career in a 2-0 win over Austria in Texas.</p><p>The eight-time Ballon D&#x27;Or winner, who turns 39 on Wednesday, had blown a chance to break the record after eight minutes when he dragged a penalty wide of the post in the Group J match.</p><p>But the Argentina skipper made no mistake seven minutes before half-time, coolly placing his finish beyond the dive of Austrian goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.</p><p>He then completed his double in the fifth minute of stoppage time to take his tally for the tournament to five goals.</p><p>Monday&#x27;s victory guarantees holders Argentina a place in the knockout rounds of the tournament, and the South Americans could clinch top spot later Monday if Jordan fail to beat Algeria.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m very happy with the victory,&quot; Messi said afterwards. &quot;It was hugely important, tough, hard-fought, and it gives us peace of mind for what&#x27;s ahead. The match was evenly balanced, intense, and we&#x27;re happy to have earned six points.&quot;</p><p>Messi admitted though that he had privately seething after missing his penalty early in the game.</p><p>&quot;Today there was a moment where I was very angry about the penalty because I missed and I struck it very badly,&quot; said Messi.</p><p>&quot;Luckily we were able to turn the situation around, take the lead and take three very important points.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>WEATHER CHAOS </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>But while Messi and Argentina are now contemplating the knockout rounds with one game to spare, France&#x27;s hopes of sealing their own passage to the last 32 were put on pause as a brutal storm halted Les Bleus&#x27; Group I clash with Iraq in Philadelphia.</p><p>Kylian Mbappe, making his 100th appearance for France, had fired France into a 1-0 lead with a vicious long-range effort after 14 minutes that ripped past Iraq goalkeeper Ahmed Basil.</p><p>But as the half progressed, a severe thunderstorm that had prompted tournament organizers to delay opening the stadium doors to fans before kick-off rolled into the region, dumping heavy rain on the venue.</p><p>As the half-time whistle blew, fans int he 68,324-capacity Lincoln Financial Field were told to take shelter, and packed into the stadium concourses.</p><p>The severe weather warning prevented the match resuming after half-time, leaving the two teams to huddle in their respective locker rooms before a planned resumption of play was announced for 8:00 pm local time (0000 GMT) -- a delay of around two hours.</p><p>The possibility of severe weather causing disruption to the tournament had been signalled at last year&#x27;s Club World Cup in the United States, when multiple games were interrupted for several hours.</p><p>Public safety regulations used widely in the United States mandate that play is halted whenever lightning is recorded within 10 miles (16.1 kilometers) of a stadium.</p><p>In Monday&#x27;s other Group I game, Norway can also qualify for the last 32 with a victory over Senegal at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uxsURqh8Fyw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Lionel Messi became the World Cup's all-time leading goalscorer on Monday to fire Argentina into the last 32. </p>

Lionel Messi became the World Cup's all-time leading goalscorer on Monday to fire Argentina into the last 32.

Messi makes World Cup history as all-time leading goalscorer

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Messi makes World Cup history as all-time leading goalscorer

Rob Woollard,

Agence France-Presse

Published June 23, 2026 09:00 AM PHT

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