Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Man proposes, God disposes, they say.
On Sunday evening in Dallas, Lionel Messi seemed determined to test the theory.
The Argentina captain arrived for the clash against Austria level with Miroslav Klose on 16 World Cup goals, having scored the first World Cup hat-trick of his career against Algeria just days earlier. With the reigning champions chasing a second consecutive win and Messi needing only one goal to become the tournament’s outright leading scorer, the stage felt perfectly set.
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ARGENTINA vs AUSTRIA, FIFA WORLD CUP 2026: HIGHLIGHTS
The opportunity arrived sooner than anyone expected. Lautaro Martinez was brought down inside the box, the referee pointed to the spot and more than 70,000 people inside the stadium began preparing for what looked like an inevitable moment of history. Messi stepped forward, but instead of finding the net, he dragged his effort wide of the right post.
The reaction was one of genuine disbelief. Austria celebrated the reprieve, Argentina wondered what had just happened and the record remained untouched. For a player who has spent two decades turning the impossible into routine, this was an unexpectedly human moment.
Yet football has spent just as long teaching the same lesson whenever Messi is involved. Rarely does one moment define his evening.
Austria defended with discipline and made life uncomfortable for the world champions, but there was always a feeling that the missed penalty had merely delayed the story rather than changed it. As Argentina continued to dominate possession and probe for openings, the match increasingly felt like it was waiting for its central character to reappear.
He eventually did just before half-time. Picking up possession around the edge of the area, Messi created a yard of space and curled a trademark finish beyond the goalkeeper and into the corner. It was the kind of goal that has accompanied so many defining moments of his career and, fittingly, it was the one that took him past Klose and into sole possession of the World Cup scoring record.
History had arrived, only not in the way anyone expected.
And because one record-breaking goal apparently was not enough, Messi returned deep into stoppage time to score again, taking his World Cup tally to 18 goals, his tournament tally to five in two matches and helping Argentina secure a 2-0 victory that sealed their place in the knockout rounds with a game to spare.
MESSI GETS HIS CROWN THE HARD WAY
Austria arrived in Dallas determined not to become spectators in Messi’s coronation.
Ralf Rangnick’s side pressed intelligently, stayed compact when Argentina dominated possession and ensured that every opening had to be earned. Marcel Sabitzer was influential in midfield, Konrad Laimer covered enormous ground and Austria looked increasingly comfortable after surviving the early penalty scare.
Argentina enjoyed plenty of the ball but lacked some of the fluency that had characterised their opening victory over Algeria. Rodrigo De Paul and Alexis Mac Allister kept things ticking over, while Enzo Fernandez repeatedly searched for pockets of space between the Austrian lines. Still, clear-cut chances remained at a premium.
That only heightened the significance of Messi’s breakthrough.
The goal carried more weight than a simple lead on the scoreboard. It was his 17th on football’s biggest stage, taking him beyond Klose and placing him alone at the summit of the World Cup scoring charts. It also made him only the third player in history to score in six consecutive World Cup matches, joining France’s Just Fontaine and Brazil’s Jairzinho.
The achievement felt particularly fitting because of the manner in which it arrived. Rather than a routine penalty, it came through a piece of open-play brilliance that carried all the hallmarks of Messi at his best. The balance, the awareness, the finish and the inevitability of it all combined to create one of those moments that seemed to belong exclusively to him.
Austria continued to compete after the interval and there were periods when they threatened to make things uncomfortable. Sabitzer tested Emiliano Martinez from a free-kick, while Marko Arnautovic’s introduction added more physicality to the attack.
But Argentina rarely looked rattled.
ARGENTINA SHOW THEIR WORLD CUP PEDIGREE
If the opening win against Algeria was about attacking freedom, this felt more like a lesson in tournament management.
Argentina were not at their sparkling best throughout the contest, yet they always appeared in control. Even when Austria grew into the game, there was a sense that Lionel Scaloni’s side understood exactly what was required. They defended calmly, controlled possession when necessary and waited patiently for opportunities to emerge.
Cristian Romero was outstanding before being withdrawn because of a knee issue, while Nicolas Otamendi stepped in seamlessly at the heart of defence. Emiliano Martinez remained assured whenever called upon and the midfield trio ensured Austria were never allowed sustained periods of pressure.
The second goal, arriving deep into added time, summed up both Messi’s evening and Argentina’s persistence.
Collecting possession on the right flank, Messi drifted infield before slipping the ball into the path of Julian Alvarez. The move looked set to break down when Alvarez failed to connect properly with the finish, but Messi had continued his run. While defenders paused, he reacted first, pounced on the loose ball and swept it into the net.
The goal sparked another eruption inside a stadium that had spent the evening singing his name. It was World Cup goal number 18, tournament goal number five and another reminder that, even at 39 years of age, Messi remains one of the defining figures of this competition.
The final whistle confirmed Argentina’s place in the knockout rounds after two wins from two matches in Group J. More importantly, it reinforced the feeling that the reigning champions are still one of the firm favourites to lift the trophy again.
Argentina will now face Jordan in their final group-stage fixture on June 27 with qualification already secured. Scaloni has the luxury of looking ahead to the knockout rounds, but for everyone else the focus remains fixed on a 39-year-old Messi.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
