By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Scoring goals and breaking records is what Lionel Messi does, and it’s what he did again Monday at the World Cup.
The Argentina captain, who many consider the greatest player of all time, scored two more World Cup goals on Monday in his team’s 2-0 victory over Austria. That gave him a record total of 18 at the world’s biggest tournament.
“Beyond anything I’m so happy for the win,” Messi said. “It was huge, tough and difficult. It would allow us to be relaxed to what’s ahead. All matches in this World Cup are very even, very intense. I’m enjoying this moment and craving to enjoy with my teammates.”
The first goal against Austria came in the 38th minute and two days before Messi’s 39th birthday, and amid the concern of an ailing father back at home. It was the sixth consecutive World Cup game in which Messi has scored — joining France striker Just Fontaine and Brazil great Jairzinho as only players to do so.
Messi had equaled Germany striker Miroslav Klose for the most goals in the World Cup at 16 with his first hat trick at the tournament in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria in the Group J opener last Tuesday night in Kansas City.
He first had a chance to set the record in the ninth minute against Austria on Monday, but he missed a penalty kick.
“There were moments when I was really angry about missing the penalty, but I was able to make up for it,” said Messi, who has won a record eight Ballon d’Or awards as the best player in Europe.
Argentina advanced to the knockout round by winning its first two group games, with Messi scoring all five of the team’s goals so far in his sixth World Cup.
Messi added his 18th World Cup goal in stoppage time when he shot one through several defenders after the first attempt was turned away by goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.
In the first half, the record became Messi’s alone when he caught Schlager leaning the wrong way after Thiago Almada let Facuno Medina’s pass go by him and directly onto the Argentina captain’s left foot from about 20 yards.
As the ball went into the net, Messi ran toward a corner and thrust his right arm into the air to celebrate the mark with the decidedly pro-Argentina crowd among the 70,649 fans in the sold-out home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
There had been a gasp from those same fans when Messi missed the penalty kick in the ninth minute.
His left-footed attempt went just wide of the right post. He is now 4 of 7 on penalty kicks in regulation play at the World Cup with misses in three consecutive tournaments.
Klose scored his 16 goals while playing in 24 World Cup matches for Germany, which wrapped up his fourth tournament by winning the 2014 final 1-0 in extra time over Messi and Argentina.
In an interview published on June 12, Klose said he expected Messi to break the scoring record.
“I expect my record to fall in this tournament,” Klose told German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung. “With the larger field of competing teams there are more games and so more chances to score goals. And I assume Argentina and France will go far. That’s perfectly OK, the record will be broken eventually anyhow and Messi is welcome to be the one who does it. I’m a big fan of Messi, always have been. Messi is a genius.”
Messi’s hat trick in the previous game, in his 200th international appearance, came 20 years to the date of his World Cup debut in Germany, when he also scored. Monday was his FIFA-record 28th match in the tournament.
The penalty kick came after Lautaro Martinez was running free in the box and was tackled from behind by Xaver Schlager and Stefan Posch, the defender playing with a broken jaw. Schalger got a foot on the ball, but Posch drew the penalty because he did not touch the ball as Martinez tumbled to the ground.
Play continued for more than a minute with Martinez still on the ground near the goal. When the game was stopped for him, officials reviewed the play.
Messi’s father has been undergoing medical treatment for an undisclosed illness, the family said in a statement last week while not providing any specifics. The 68-year-old Jorge Messi has played a key role in his third son’s soccer career, acting as his agent and managing his business affairs off the field.
Lionel Messi was overcome with emotion after scoring his first goal against Algeria, and said after that match his tears came following some tough days not related to soccer.
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AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth in Duesseldorf, Germany, contributed to this report.
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup