Masterful Messi stands alone

Scoring goals and breaking records is what Lionel Messi does, and he is already doing it again at his sixth World Cup.

The Argentina captain now has the World Cup scoring record all to himself after another standout performance, one that began with frustration after missing a penalty kick, but ended in pure elation with another victory.

Messi, who many consider the greatest player of all time, scored both goals in his team's 2-0 victory over Austria on Monday.

That brace took his tally to 18 World Cup goals, six days after his first-ever World Cup hat-trick put him level with German forward Miroslav Klose on 16 tournament strikes.

"Beyond anything, I'm so happy for the win," Messi said. "It was huge, tough and difficult. It allows us to be relaxed for what's ahead. All matches in this World Cup are very even, very intense. I'm enjoying this moment and crave to enjoy it with my teammates."

In the 38th minute, as the ball went into the net for his record 17th goal, Messi ran toward a corner and thrust his right arm into the air to celebrate the mark with the Argentina fans, who made up the majority of the 70,649 fans inside the sold-out Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.

It was the sixth consecutive World Cup game in which Messi has scored — joining France striker Just Fontaine and Brazil great Jairzinho, the only other players to achieve that feat.

The goal came about half an hour after he missed the spot kick for a chance to match the record.

There had been an audible gasp from those same fans when Messi missed the penalty attempt in the ninth minute.

"There were moments when I was really angry about missing the penalty, but I was able to make up for it," said Messi, who has won a record eight Ballon d'Or awards as the best player in Europe.

The penalty was awarded after Lautaro Martinez was running free in the box and was tackled from behind by Xaver Schlager and Stefan Posch, the defender playing with a broken jaw.

Play continued for more than a minute with Martinez still on the ground near the goal. When the game was stopped for him, officials reviewed the play and called for the penalty to be awarded.

Messi's left-footed attempt went just wide of the right post. He is now four from seven spot kick attempts in regulation time at the World Cup, with misses in three consecutive tournaments.

The goal record became Messi's alone when he caught goalkeeper Alexander Schlager leaning the wrong way after Thiago Almada let Facundo Medina's pass go by him and directly onto Messi's left foot from about 20 yards.

Messi added his 18th World Cup goal in the waning seconds of stoppage time, when he took a shot through several defenders after his first attempt was turned away by the keeper.

"I knew it wasn't going to be easy," Messi said. "The way things are going in the World Cup, the way it's being played. No one is giving away anything."

Argentina advanced to the knockout round by winning its first two group games.

Messi also scored all of his team's goals in Argentina's 3-0 opening win over Algeria in Kansas City.

"I have no more words to talk about Leo," Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said.

Austria coach Ralf Rangnick did. "Someone who is 39 years old and can score two goals, and five goals overall at the beginning of the World Cup, well, that makes a difference.

"We knew that he is on a level of his own, and Lionel Messi showed us today that he's the best."

The win against Austria came two days before Messi's 39th birthday and amid concern for his ailing father.

His father has been undergoing medical treatment for an undisclosed illness, the family said in a statement last week, while not providing any specific details.

The 68-year-old Jorge Messi has played a key role in his third son's soccer career, acting as his agent and managing his business affairs off the field.

Lionel Messi was overcome with emotion after scoring his first goal against Algeria on June 17, and said it was due to some tough days not related to soccer. Four more goals later, he's all-time top scorer.

The ousted Klose played in 24 World Cup matches, wrapping up his fourth tournament in 2014 by winning the title as Germany beat Argentina — and Messi — 1-0 in extra time.

In an interview published on June 12, Klose said he expected Messi to break his scoring record.

"With the larger field of competing teams, there are more games and, so, more chances to score goals, and I assume Argentina and France will go far," Klose told German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung. "That's perfectly OK, the record will be broken eventually anyhow, and Messi is welcome to be the one who does it. I'm a big fan, always have been. Messi is a genius."

Messi's hat-trick in the previous game, in his 200th international appearance, came 20 years to the date of his World Cup debut in Germany, when he also scored. Monday was his FIFA-record 28th match in the tournament.

AP