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Argentina’s captain Lionel Messi has become the highest goal-scorer in the Football World Cup. Messi broke Germany’s Miroslav Klose’s record (16 goals) by scoring his 17th goal against Austria and then extended the tally to 18 by scoring another goal late in the match.

Messi made history by scoring a field goal in the 39th minute at the Dallas Stadium. Later, in stoppage time (95th minute), he netted a second goal to seal a 2-0 victory for Argentina. With this win, defending champions Argentina also secured a spot in the Round of 32.

The 38-year-old Messi had scored a hat-trick against Algeria in the previous match. He now has a tournament-leading five goals to his name. Following Messi is Germany’s Deniz Undav with three goals.

Goals in 6 consecutive World Cup matches

Messi has now become the third player in the world to score in six consecutive World Cup matches. He equaled the records held by France’s Just Fontaine and Brazil’s Jairzinho.

World Cup debut 20 years ago

Messi played his first World Cup match against Serbia and Montenegro on June 16, 2006, at the age of 18, scoring his first World Cup goal in that very game. Twenty years later, he has become the most successful goal-scorer in World Cup history.

Messi is playing in the sixth World Cup of his career—a record. He is the first player in football history to have played in six World Cups. He also holds the record for the most World Cup appearances, having played 28 matches.