Lionel Messi stands on the precipice of football immortality today. When Argentina walk out at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium for their Group J clash against Austria, the 38-year-old maestro needs just one goal to become the outright leading scorer in World Cup history — and one assist to surpass the legendary Diego Maradona as the tournament’s sole assist king.
The defending champions’ captain enters the match after a record-breaking performance in Argentina’s 3-0 opening victory over Algeria, a game that further cemented his status as one of football’s greatest players. Messi scored the first World Cup hat-trick of his career while making his 200th senior appearance for Argentina, pulling level with Germany’s Miroslav Klose on 16 World Cup goals — a record the German striker had held since 2014.
That hat-trick, scored at 38 years and 357 days old, also made him the oldest player ever to score a World Cup hat-trick, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo’s previous record set at the 2018 tournament. The Argentina captain was tearful after his first goal, and it later emerged that his father is recovering from an unspecified health issue. Despite personal travails and a troubled build-up because of a hamstring injury, Messi’s mere presence appears to inspire his teammates.
“If anyone thought this group was better off without Leo, today it became clear that Leo is the most important of them all,” said midfielder Alexis Mac Allister after the win against Algeria.
A goal against Austria would move Messi clear at the top of the tournament’s all-time scoring charts with 17 goals. But that is not the only record within reach. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner already holds World Cup records for most appearances (27), most minutes played (2,394), most Man of the Match awards (12) and most successful dribbles (125), and he is the first player in football history to appear in six consecutive World Cups.
With one more assist, Messi would move past Maradona to become the outright leader in World Cup assists, having equalled the iconic No. 10 on eight. A goal from outside the penalty area would also set a new record for most long-range goals in World Cup history, with Messi having already scored five from beyond the box. Victory over Austria would give him 17 World Cup wins, tying him with Klose’s record of 17 victories. And should he score, Messi would also equal the all-time record of six straight World Cup games with a goal, a mark jointly held by France’s Just Fontaine and Brazil’s Jairzinho.
Austria, however, promises a stern challenge. Coached by Ralf Rangnick, they opened their campaign with a 3-1 win over Jordan and will arrive on a four-match winning streak. With 10 wins, one draw and only one defeat in their last 12 matches, Austria have built a reputation for defensive discipline and consistency. Victory for Argentina would put them on the cusp of the last 32 as Group J winners with a game to spare.
Messi had not even committed to playing this tournament until the last moment. But nobody realistically expected him to be absent from spearheading Argentina’s attempt to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cup crowns. The former Barcelona wizard dragged his country to World Cup glory four years ago, and the lure of representing his nation once again on the biggest stage proved irresistible.
“In the end, it’s just a statistic and nothing more,” Messi, widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all time, said.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, who was Messi’s teammate at the superstar’s first World Cup in 2006, has built an ecosystem around their captain. “He’s playing with a group of friends, with people that are going to play with their heart for him,” Scaloni said. “Whenever they need to have a conversation with him they can just approach him and it’s really hard to explain whatever he conveys”.
Rodrigo De Paul, who plays with Messi at Inter Miami, put it more bluntly: “He makes you want to go to war if he asks you to”.
As Argentina seeks another step toward retaining its crown, the spotlight will once again fall on Messi, with the football world watching to see whether he can etch his name alone atop the World Cup record books.
