Lionel Messi became the World Cup's all-time leading goalscorer on Monday, scoring twice as holders Argentina powered into the last 32 with a 2-0 victory over Austria.

Messi swept home a low finish in the 38th minute of the Group J game in Arlington, Texas to take his career World Cup goals tally to 17, one clear of the previous record of 16 he shared with Miroslav Klose.

He then extended his record to 18 goals, ramming home a finish through a crowd of defenders deep in stoppage time to put the seal on Argentina's win.

The eight-time Ballon D'Or winner had blown a chance to break the record after eight minutes when he dragged a penalty wide of the post.

But the Argentina skipper made no mistake seven minutes before half-time, coolly placing his finish beyond the dive of Austrian goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.

He then completed his double in the fifth minute of stoppage time to take his tally for the tournament to five goals following his hat-trick in Argentina's opening 3-0 win over Algeria last week.

"Today there was a moment where I was very angry about the penalty because I missed and I struck it very badly," said Messi, who turns 39 on Wednesday.

"Luckily we were able to turn the situation around, take the lead and take three very important points."

Monday's victory guarantees Argentina a place in the knockout rounds of the tournament.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni could now choose to rest his talisman for the match against Jordan on Saturday.

But Messi said they want to go through with the maximum nine points.

"We're Argentina and we're always going to look to win against any opponent," he said (AFP)



Edited by Cecil Wong