Argentina captain Lionel Messi commented on the victory over Austria in the second round of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Argentina won 2-0, with Messi scoring both goals. He thereby became the sole all-time top scorer in World Cup history, surpassing Miroslav Klose. The Argentine now has 18 goals in World Cups.
However, after the match, Messi emphasized not his personal record but the team's result. According to him, the Argentines knew the game against Austria would not be easy.
'We only thought about winning and knew that every match would be difficult and that no opponent would give us anything,' Messi was quoted as saying by FIFA's official website.
The forward also noted that the victory was especially important due to the nature of the match. Austria long prevented Argentina from controlling the game, and Messi himself missed a penalty early in the match.
'Honestly, I am very happy with the victory, especially because it is such an important victory, hard-earned and deserved. It gives us confidence for what lies ahead. It was a very even, very tense match, and we are glad to have six points and already secured qualification to the next round,' the Argentina captain added.
The victory allowed Argentina to collect six points after two rounds and strengthen their lead in Group J. In the final round of the group stage, Argentina will play Jordan. Austria will face Algeria.