By Obaloluwa Joshua, LAGOS
Lionel Messi further enhanced his status as one of football’s greatest-ever players by scoring a stunning brace against Austria to become the FIFA World Cup’s all-time leading scorer.
The Argentina captain now boasts 18 goals at the tournament, surpassing Miroslav Klose’s previous record of 16.
Messi’s tally was boosted by the hat-trick he netted in Argentina’s opening match against Algeria.
The 38-year-old opened the scoring in spectacular fashion, calmly guiding the ball into the bottom corner after Thiago Almada’s clever dummy allowed Facundo Medina’s pass to find him inside the penalty area.
Messi then struck again deep into stoppage time, sealing a dramatic victory for Argentina and further underlining his enduring brilliance on football’s biggest stage.
The double took him top of tournament’s Golden Boot standings with five goals.
Argentina now top Group J with six points from two games.
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