It had to be Lionel Messi, it had to be on this day and perhaps it even needed to be in Dallas too. History was made in the way he knows best, a clinical left-footed flourish setting him out on his own as the World Cup’s highest goalscorer of all time. Another followed with the game’s final action and at this rate 18 may even seem a modest figure a month from now. Messi has already scored five goals in two games, all but guaranteeing that Argentina will win Group J. A first golden boot would not be the worst present for an icon who turns 39 on Wednesday.
The record-breaking moment was one for the ages. It came 40 years to the day since Diego Maradona felled England via infamous hand and enthralling slalom. Had there ever really been any doubt? Quite a bit, actually, in the minutes after Messi improbably missed the target with an early penalty. That, in itself, was a pinch-me moment of sorts. The real thing arrived seven minutes before half-time and perhaps it slayed a few ghosts too. This is the city where, to long-festering chagrin, Maradona played his final international match – at USA 94 – before being banned for ephedrine doping.
The current vintage, playing in their natural state, were not entirely convincing against a competent Austria team who will prove a handful for anyone they might meet in the last 32. Ultimately their defence was rarely exposed and, further upfield, they profited from the presence of genius.
This was, like most Argentina matches on this stage, an occasion awesome in scale and splendour. At least three quarters of the stadium must have been visibly Albiceleste in persuasion, their strains echoing from the closed roof and around this stadium’s dramatic, swooping stands. It was a breathtaking noise, at once celebratory and expectant; not for the first time this summer, football had contrived to create an event that largely defied cynicism.
The sport’s modern accoutrements are, however, never far from making themselves heard. Argentina began at the kind of rattling tempo more associated with their opponents, who they pulled apart within five minutes. The referee, Amin Mohamed Omar, was initially unmoved when Lautaro Martínez went down in the box. Martínez had been crowded out by Stefan Posch and Xaver Schlager but the video assistant referee discovered something more. Upon review Omar decided Posch had felled the striker and Messi was granted an early appointment with destiny.
What a gasp of disbelief swept the arena, then, when he fluffed it. The outcome seemed so foregone, the penalty a mere administrative procedure, that few seemed to have considered Messi might miss. But he did, and horribly, with a shot that scuffed comfortably wide of Alexander Schlager’s left post after an ill-advisedly short run-up.
Visibly emboldened, Austria sought to capitalise on Argentina’s bafflement before Messi, head clearing, tricked through the back line. Only a sharp stop from Schlager, who batted away David Alaba’s attempted interception, prevented the twinkling footwork from bearing fruit.
This had the feel of a contest now. Ralf Rangnick had demanded that Austria put in the best display of his reign and they continued pushing, Marcel Sabitzer’s half-volley demanding a block of Cristian Romero. But Messi was back in the mood, playing Enzo Fernández in with a first-time layoff and, after Schlager had blocked at the Chelsea midfielder’s feet, seeing Alaba repel his follow-up.
It turned out nobody needed to worry about Messi. The game’s tempo had dropped but there has rarely been a state of affairs he could not elevate. He could thank Thiago Almada for manoeuvring the play left to Facundo Medina and having the good grace not to attack the subsequent cutback. All that being done, he did the rest with a swept first-time finish past Schlager. It was a goal Messi has scored hundreds of times but the resonance of this one has rarely been surpassed. A roar and a punch of the air: no trademark diffidence here, because Messi knew exactly it meant.
The first half’s remainder descended into niggle, scuffle and fouls. Argentina could not care less and nor could their followers, worshipping lustily inside a Messi cathedral. But there was still work to do and Austria, bright but blunt, emerged from the interval sharply. Sabitzer failed to connect with one shooting chance and Romano Schmid reached a loose ball ahead of Emiliano Martínez only to run it out of play.
Finally they tested Martínez properly when, after a crude check by Romero on Konrad Laimer, the keeper batted away Sabitzer’s free-kick. Romero, who had somehow completed almost an hour without being booked, was swiftly replaced by Nicolás Otamendi. Austria were working enough slick patterns to cause the holders concern.
Their centre-forward, Michael Gregoritsch, headed over shortly before the widely jeered hydration break after a bustling run from Sabitzer. But they rarely threatened again and, with the game seemingly dying, Messi set it aflame once again after his first effort had been blocked.