Messi Breaks All-Time World Cup Scoring Record as Argentina Secures Round of 32 Spot

[Anchor]

Argentina has secured its spot in the Round of 32 at the North and Central American World Cup with two consecutive wins after defeating Austria. Argentina's star player, Messi, set a new record for the most goals in World Cup history by scoring in the match.

Reporter Min Gyeongho has the story.

[Reporter]

Messi, who tied the record for the most World Cup goals with 16 after a hat-trick in the first match against Algeria, had a chance to break the record just 9 minutes into the first half when he stepped up to take a penalty kick earned by Martinez. However, he hung his head as his shot missed to the right of the goal.

Determined to make up for the mistake, Messi fired shots whenever he had the chance, but he was repeatedly blocked by the opposing goalkeeper and defense. Finally, in the 38th minute of the first half, he broke through the Austrian defense.

He connected with a cutback from the left, firing a powerful and precise left-footed shot that rattled the back of the net.

The stadium erupted in cheers as he broke the record for the most World Cup goals with his 17th career goal.

Then, in stoppage time of the second half, after a teammate's shot was blocked by the goalkeeper, Messi received a pass inside the penalty box and sealed the victory with a goal after two attempts using his signature dribbling.

With his 18th career goal and 5th goal of the tournament, he is now the sole leader in the race for the Golden Boot.

Thanks to Messi's performance, Argentina defeated Austria 2-0 and confirmed their advancement to the Round of 32 with two straight wins.

---

Tournament favorite France also cruised to a 3-0 victory over Iraq, securing an early spot in the Round of 32 with two consecutive wins.

Mbappe scored the opening goal with a left-footed long-range shot from outside the penalty box in the 14th minute of the first half, and completed a brace in the 9th minute of the second half after capitalizing on a defensive error to receive a pass from Dembele.

In the 21st minute of the second half, Dembele celebrated the big win with a clinching goal, which was also his first-ever World Cup goal.

Meanwhile, Norway defeated Senegal 3-2, powered by a multi-goal performance from star striker Haaland.

(Video Editing: Park Chun-bae)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.