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Lionel Messi once again made history in world football this Monday with a brace against Austria at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, securing a 2-0 victory for Argentina and placing him alongside Just Fontaine and Jairzinho as the only three footballers capable of scoring in six consecutive World Cup matches.
The albiceleste captain scored in the 38th minute and in stoppage time at 90+5, bringing his total to , definitively surpassing the historical record of Miroslav Klose (16 goals) and establishing himself as the tournament's all-time leading scorer.
The streak of six consecutive matches with a goal spans two different World Cup editions.
In Qatar 2022, Messi scored in the Round of 16 against Australia, the quarterfinals against the Netherlands, the semifinals against Croatia, and the final against France.
In the 2026 World Cup, he extended the series with a hat trick in the debut against Algeria on June 17 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, marking his first World Cup hat trick—and completed it with a brace against Austria.
Fontaine set the record in Sweden 1958, scoring in all six matches that France played, with a total of 13 goals, a figure that remains the record for most goals in a single tournament edition.
Jairzinho matched the feat at the 1970 Mexico World Cup, scoring in all six matches of the champion Brazil with seven goals.
Unlike the others, Messi built his streak spanning two tournaments, which highlights the extraordinary goal-scoring consistency he has maintained over the years.
The doubleheader against Austria was also Messi's 202nd match with the Argentine national team, where he has accumulated 122 goals as the all-time top scorer.
At 39 years old, the Argentine captain has amassed an unparalleled collection of World Cup records: 27 matches played in the tournament, surpassing Lothar Matthäus, and the distinction of being the first footballer in history to participate in six different editions of the World Cup, from Germany 2006 to the tournament currently held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
It also holds the record for the most direct contributions to goals—counting both goals and assists—in the entire history of the tournament.
The result against Austria also secured Argentina's qualification for the next round of the tournament, with the team topping Group J after two victories in two matches.
Messi matched Klose's record on June 17 with his hat trick against Algeria and surpassed it with his first goal against Austria, thus completing a journey that many thought would make the German's record unattainable.
Algeria, a rival in Argentina's debut in this 2026 World Cup, will face Jordan this Monday at Levi's Stadium in San Francisco, in a match that will determine the qualification prospects for Group J.
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