In the 38th minute at Dallas stadium, Messi received a low cross from left-back Facundo Medina and slotted it with a one-touch finish into the bottom left corner, leaving goalkeeper Alexander Schlager no chance to save.

The goal gave Argentina a one-nil lead and simultaneously etched Messi into World Cup history with 17 goals across six tournaments, breaking the 16-goal record held by former Germany striker Miroslav Klose.

Messi celebrates the opening goal against Austria in the 38th minute, becoming the highest scorer in World Cup history with 17 goals. Photo: AP

The moment the ball found the net, Messi ran to the corner of the pitch, celebrating emotionally with his teammates. BBC commentator Steve Bower remarked, "History for Messi. You can see how much this goal means to him."

Even before the goal, there were signs that Klose's record might be broken in this match. Messi consistently found dangerous spaces and was central to most of Argentina's attacks. Despite missing an early penalty, he remained the most prominent player on the field.

Former England midfielder Danny Murphy assessed the goal as an inevitable outcome of the game's flow. "The goal was fantastic," Murphy stated. "It was only a matter of time. Messi consistently found favorable positions due to his free role. The only surprise was that he didn't score earlier."

He also praised Messi's game intelligence: "His football intelligence is on a different level. Messi always finds space and chooses the perfect moment to move. He is the best player to ever play."

The goal against Austria was also the result of a textbook combination play. Messi initiated the attack from midfield before continuing his run into the penalty area. Thiago Almada cleverly dummied the ball, and Medina provided a perfect assist for the captain's one-touch finish.

Chris Sutton, a former England striker, described it as a familiar sight of "the great Messi." "He started the play, continued his run, and was in the box at the right moment. After missing an early chance, Messi couldn't afford to miss such a clear opportunity again," Sutton commented.

This goal also made Messi the third player in World Cup history to score in six consecutive matches. Before him, only Just Fontaine of France in 1958 and Jairzinho of Brazil in 1970 achieved a similar feat.

The World Cup scoring record has been held by many legends throughout history. Gerd Muller finished his career with 14 goals, before Ronaldo Nazario raised the benchmark to 15 in 2006. Klose then surpassed Ronaldo to reach 16 goals in 2014, holding the top position for 12 years.

Messi pursued this milestone for many years. A hat-trick against Algeria in Argentina's opening match of World Cup 2026 helped him equal Klose's record. In the second match against Austria, it took only 38 minutes for the Argentina captain to stand alone at the top of the list.

Following this goal, Messi has 17 goals in 28 World Cup matches, one goal more than Klose, despite playing more games than the Germany legend. Ronaldo Nazario ranks third with 15 goals. Kylian Mbappe currently has 14 goals and remains the most notable contender in the race for World Cup scoring records in the coming years.

Remarkably, Messi broke the record just minutes after setting another unwanted statistic. An early missed penalty made him the player with the most missed penalties in World Cup history. However, instead of being haunted by the error, the Argentina captain responded by scoring and rewriting history.

As BBC Radio 5 Live commentator Alistair Bruce-Ball said after that moment: "We've run out of superlatives to describe Messi. Magic, mesmerizing, masterful. Messi continues to astound the football world."