He almost didn’t come.
That’s the part that gets lost in all the record-breaking and the celebrations and the highlight reels. Messi held off committing to this World Cup until the last moment. His father is ill back home in Argentina. And for a while, nobody knew if the greatest player in the history of football was actually going to show up in North America.
He showed up.
And now, two games into the 2026 World Cup, he has broken every scoring record that existed — men’s or women’s — and he turns 39 on Wednesday.
Nobody writes stories like Lionel Messi.
The Penalty Miss That Made It Better
Nine minutes in, Lautaro Martínez was brought down in the box. Clear penalty. Messi stepped up. PokerListings
This was the moment. One goal away from surpassing Miroslav Klose’s long-standing men’s record. The whole stadium knew it. The whole world watching knew it.
He missed.
The keeper saved it, the record stayed tied, and for a brief moment the script seemed to be going wrong. PokerListings
But here’s what you need to understand about Messi at this stage of his career — the missed penalty didn’t break him. It focused him. “There were moments when I was really angry about missing the penalty, but I was able to make up for it,” he said afterwards. ESPN
Twenty-nine minutes later, Facundo Medina played a low cutback across the box. Messi arrived, composed, and rolled it into the near corner. 17 World Cup goals. The men’s record, broken. PokerListings
Then in stoppage time, he scored again. 18. Moving him past Marta’s women’s record — making him the all-time leading scorer across both men’s and women’s World Cups combined. Ahrefs
What 18 Goals Actually Means
Take a step back and look at the full picture.
Messi scored his first World Cup goal on June 16, 2006, at 18 years old, against Serbia and Montenegro. Twenty years later, at 38, he is still finding the net on the biggest stage in football. AskGamblers
He is now the first man in over half a century to score in six consecutive World Cup games — joining Just Fontaine in 1958 and Jairzinho in 1970. Names from a different era of football. And Messi is standing alongside them, in 2026, a month before his 39th birthday. ACH Casinos
All five of Argentina’s goals at this tournament have been scored by Messi. Five. By one man. In two games. FIFA
And the record he broke — Klose himself saw it coming. “I expect my record to fall in this tournament. Messi is welcome to be the one who does it. I’m a big fan of Messi, always have been. Messi is a genius,” Klose told a German newspaper before the tournament began. Ahrefs
Even the man whose record was broken was rooting for him.
Austria Made It Hard. Messi Did It Anyway.
This wasn’t a comfortable night.
Austria pressed relentlessly. At times there were five players around Messi the moment he received the ball. Ralf Rangnick’s side had a plan — suffocate him, give him no space, make Argentina find another way. ACH Casinos
For long stretches it worked. Argentina were uncomfortable. The missed penalty added pressure. The crowd, the occasion, the weight of the record — all of it sitting on one man’s shoulders.
But when Austria crowded Messi, space opened elsewhere. A first-time pass here, a wriggle free there. He found it. ACH Casinos
That’s the evolution of Messi at 38. He can’t beat five defenders with pace anymore — he doesn’t need to. He reads the game at a level nobody else operates at. He sees the pass before anyone else does. And when the moment comes, he finishes it.
Test passed. Record broken. Argentina through to the Round of 32 with six points, leading Group J with a game to spare. AskGamblers
The Human Part
Records and statistics only tell half the story.
Messi came into this tournament carrying something heavier than expectation. His father is ill back home. He wavered on whether to come at all. And when he finally committed, he did it knowing every game could feel like borrowed time. AskGamblers
That context makes what he’s doing even more extraordinary. The hat-trick in game 1. The missed penalty and immediate response in game 2. The record, broken two days before his 39th birthday.
This is a man playing for something beyond football right now. And that version of Messi — motivated, emotional, with everything on the line — is the most dangerous version of Messi there has ever been.
What It Means for Asian Bettors
Argentina are the defending champions, through to the knockouts, with their captain playing the football of his life.
The realistic concern is their defence — Austria created moments, and better teams in the knockout rounds will create more. But with Messi in this form, Argentina can outscore almost anyone.
If you haven’t backed Argentina for the outright title, or Messi for the Golden Boot, the window is narrowing. Every performance like this shortens the odds further.
The smarter play is now. Before the Round of 32. Before the odds reflect what everyone watching already knows — that this Argentina, led by this Messi, is the team to beat.
How to Bet on Messi and Argentina with Eybet
- Register on Eybet — Asia’s trusted online sports betting platform
- Make your first deposit
- Head to Sports → FIFA World Cup 2026 → Outright Markets
- Back Argentina to win the tournament, or Messi for the Golden Boot
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