Lionel Messi breaks World Cup goals record as Argentina beat Austria. This is how he did it

Key Points:

• Lionel Messi became the all-time leading scorer at the World Cup by netting his 17th and 18th goals in Argentina's 2-0 win over Austria, surpassing Germany's Miroslav Klose's record of 16 goals.
• Despite missing an early penalty, Messi's fluid movement and positioning allowed him to score twice, securing Argentina's place in the knockout stages and enhancing his bid for a first World Cup Golden Boot.
• Messi has scored 18 World Cup goals across five tournaments, with a notable weakness in penalty kicks, having missed three in World Cup history, the most of any player.
• Argentina's attacking success often comes from wide plays and overlapping full-backs delivering cutbacks to Messi, a pattern opponents will need to counter in future matches.
• Austria's cautious game plan limited their attacking threat, resulting in only one shot on target, and their defeat leaves them in second place in Group J, setting up a likely knockout match against a top team from Group H.