Lionel Messi reached a historic milestone on Monday in Dallas, scoring twice in Argentina’s 2–0 victory over Austria to become the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history. His two goals brought his total to 18, surpassing Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who had 16, and Brazil’s Marta, who has 17 across men’s and women’s tournaments. Messi’s first goal came in the 38th minute, equaling Klose’s record, and his second in stoppage time made him the outright leader.

This World Cup marks Messi’s sixth appearance in the tournament. Remarkably, 12 of his 18 goals have come after turning 35, and all five of Argentina’s goals in the current edition have been scored by him. The Argentine captain also became only the third player to score in six consecutive World Cup matches, joining France’s Just Fontaine and Brazil’s Jairzinho.

Despite missing a penalty early in the match, Messi’s performance drew praise from analysts. BBC commentators Ashley Williams and Danny Murphy highlighted his football intelligence and questioned whether fans are witnessing the greatest player in football history.