A fatigued Lionel Messi relished the “It feels special, but like I’ve always said it does,” achievement of becoming the World Cup’s all-time leading goalscorer after netting twice in Argentina’s 2-0 triumph against Austria.
Messi surpassed Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who held the previous record since 2014, by scoring his 17th World Cup goal just before halftime. He sealed his performance with a second goal in the dying moments of the match, having earlier missed a penalty kick that he acknowledged made his contributions even more crucial.
“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,”
Messi maintained a composed demeanor, even when asked to choose his favorite among his 18 World Cup goals. “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 said with a laugh.
With 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 stated. “I have no words to talk about Leo, it makes us all a bit tired,”
The head coach of Argentina, Lionel Scaloni, expressed his admiration for Messi’s continued brilliance, admitting he struggles to find the right words to describe the star. “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 said. “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 vital role in the build-up to Messi’s second goal, also praised the forward’s talent. “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,”
Austria’s coach, Ralf Rangnick, acknowledged Messi’s exceptional ability but raised concerns about a possible foul by Alexis Mac Allister on Xaver Schlader prior to Messi’s first goal. “In my opinion there was a foul, but the VAR was not brave enough to tell the referee about the foul committed.” he commented. “In my opinion, there was a foul, but the VAR was not brave enough to tell the referee about the foul committed.”
