The Argentine men’s national football team won 2-0 against its Austrian counterpart at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and secured a spot in the 2026 World Cup knockout stages.

The Albiceleste reached the second group stage game needing only one more win to extend its stay in the tournament, after beating Algeria 3-0 in its debut with a Lionel Messi hat trick. 

The Austrian team, coached by former Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick, was in a prime spot to secure qualification after beating Jordan 2-0 in its debut.

The match started with Argentina on top, controlling the ball while Austria pressed high, looking to create chances by forcing mistakes from the defending world champions.

It all looked to be going Argentina’s way, as in the 8th minute striker Lautaro Martínez was brought down inside the box, leading to a penalty in favor of the Albiceleste after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review.

However, Messi missed the opportunity, which seemed to take him out of the match, and Argentina with him.

The Albiceleste slowly regained its confidence after the cooling break in the 24th minute.

As the first half neared the end, Messi gave Argentina the lead. Forward Thiago Almada started a counterattack, dribbling through the ground and set up Facundo Medina, who put a back pass for Messi to slot it in with a first-touch low shot to the goalkeeper’s right in the 39th minute.

The goal saw Messi become the all-time leading goalscorer in the World Cup’s history, overtaking Germany’s Miroslav Klose’s 16 strikes.

In the second half, Austria gained some ground, as Argentine head coach Lionel Scaloni sought to secure the win with substitutions aimed at defending deeper and counterattacking.

Despite going through some tense moments, the team was able to see out the game.

In the 95th minute of added time, the ball fell to Messi after the Argentine captain set up striker Julian Álvarez to score the second. After missing the first chance, Messi tapped in the rebound for the 2-0 to wrap up the game.

“I’m very happy for the win,” said Messi after the game. “It was a hard-fought, difficult game, and the win is very important as it gives us some peace of mind for what comes next. This is the World Cup, and every game is tough.”

An exhausted Messi said he was “unable” to pick a favorite from his 18 World Cup goals, saying he’d rather focus on celebrating the win with his teammates.

“It’s incredible how [tournament] has gone so far,” he added when asked about his five goals in the tournament. “It’s a shame about the penalty, that could’ve increased the tally, but maybe if I scored that one maybe the other two wouldn’t have come. So I’m just happy with the win and qualification.”

Cover image: Seleccion Argentina Twitter