A fatigued Lionel Messi relished the “It feels special, but like I’ve always said it does,” achievement of becoming the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history after his two goals propelled Argentina to a 2-0 win against Austria.
Messi surpassed Germany’s Miroslav Klose’s previous record, established in 2014, by netting his 17th goal on this stage just before half-time, and sealed the match with another goal in the dying moments. Earlier, he missed a penalty but acknowledged that his crucial goals helped 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.” he remarked. “I can’t recall right now, I’m tired, low on energy, and finding it hard to think,”
Despite the significance of the occasion, Messi maintained a calm demeanor and refrained from revealing which of his 18 World Cup goals he favored. “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.
Following two 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 commented. “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 consistent brilliance leaves him nearly speechless. “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 key role in the build-up to Messi’s second goal, also praised the star. “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.”
