{"id":346565,"date":"2026-06-23T04:06:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T04:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/346565\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T04:06:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T04:06:22","slug":"messis-brace-sends-argentina-into-the-world-cup-knockouts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/346565\/","title":{"rendered":"Messi\u2019s brace sends Argentina into the World Cup knockouts"},"content":{"rendered":"

ARLINGTON<\/p>\n

Dallas-Fort Worth has seen some of the biggest moments in the World Cup so far and that didn\u2019t change Monday in Argentina\u2019s group stage battle with Austria.<\/p>\n

Arlington\u2019s AT&T Stadium was taken over by Argentinian fans clad in white and light blue, eager to watch Lionel Messi<\/a> chase history while a small, but passionate group of fans for Austria tried to cheer their squad on for a massive upset.<\/p>\n

Argentina prevailed 2-0 and clinched its spot in the Group of 32 while Austria still has work to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was important for us to get six points to have a calmer week and I\u2019m happy,\u201d Messi said.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how the match unfolded:<\/p>\n

Messi\u2019s historic moment<\/p>\n

Messi entered Argentina\u2019s second World Cup chasing history as he was just one goal away from being the all-time leading scorer in the tournament. Messi had multiple chances early to take the record including in the opening eight minutes when Argentina received a penalty kick after a VAR review.<\/p>\n

The legendary striker stunned the crowd by missing wide right as Austria avoided falling into an early hole. It was a rare sight to see to one of the greatest players ever to miss a penalty like that, but Messi would have another chance later in the 32nd minute when he had a shot right in front of the goal that was denied by Austria\u2019s Alexander Schlager.<\/p>\n

\"Argentina Argentina forward Lionel Messi takes a penalty kick during the FIFA World Cup 2026 matchup against Austria on Monday, June 22, 2026, at Dallas Stadium in Arlington. Amanda McCoy FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM <\/p>\n

Maybe the weight of chasing the record was impacting the elite striker? That was a question permeating through the large Argentinian crowd until Messi finally came through in the 39th minute. After a beautiful cross from Facundo Medina got Messi the ball in the box, Messi shot a rocket past Schlager to secure the World Cup<\/a> record.<\/p>\n

\u201cHappiness, obviously a lot of happiness,\u201d Messi said after the match. \u201cIt was a very tough match. Honestly, we knew it was going to be a match of high intensity… I\u2019m happy for the result, for the qualification.\u201d<\/p>\n

Messi has already scored four times this World Cup bringing his all-time number to 17.<\/p>\n

Messi delivers the dagger<\/p>\n

Despite thoroughly controlling most of the match, the result was still in doubt late in the second half as Argentina squandered a few opportunities to increase its lead. Playing in extra time, Austria nearly tied the game with a header that just missed the net in extra time.<\/p>\n

Sensing the potential danger of allowing a late goal, Messi came through when it mattered most. In the fifth minute of extra time Messi got deep into the box and his first shot was initially turned away by an Austrian defender. But Messi gathered the rebound and was somehow able to fit a tight shot through the legs of a defender for his second goal of the match.<\/p>\n

The accuracy and touch on the shot is something few players in the world would be capable of pulling off. After winning the World Cup in 2022, Messi has Argentina primed for a repeat with five goals in the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are Argentina and we always go out looking to win against any opponent,\u201d Messi said. \u201cWe know it\u2019s not easy and that you have to leave everything on the pitch. I think today Argentina did exactly that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Argentina Argentina forward Lionel Messi celebrates a goal with teammates during the FIFA World Cup 2026 matchup against Austria on Monday, June 22, 2026, at Dallas Stadium in Arlington. The goal was number 17 for Messi in the World Cup, an all-time record. Amanda McCoy FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM Austria\u2019s attack arrives too late<\/p>\n

Austria played on its heels in the first half as Messi and company routinely controlled possession and orchestrated runs deep into Austrian territory. Austria failed to record a shot on target in the first half, but things began to change in the second with Austria desperately chasing an equalizer.<\/p>\n

A lifeless attack suddenly began to find direction as Austria was the much more aggressive side and that added energy led to more creativity and chances on offense. Austria\u2019s best chances came on a corner kick in the 55th minute that challenged goalkeeper Emiliano Mart\u00ednez, who was able to show off his length by bringing in the save.<\/p>\n

\"Austria Austria midfielder Konrad Laimer falls to the grass while being defended by Argentina’s Cristian Romero during a FIFA World Cup 2026 matchup on Monday, June 22, 2026, at Dallas Stadium in Arlington. Amanda McCoy FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM <\/p>\n

Despite the renewed vigor on the attack, that was Austria\u2019s lone shot on target as Argentina blocked numerous shots and Austria failed to show the proper touch on its another potential scoring chances. Austria will need to be much cleaner in its final group stage match against Algeria.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 2:31 PM.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ARLINGTON Dallas-Fort Worth has seen some of the biggest moments in the World Cup so far and that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346566,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-346565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}