17, then 18: Lionel Messi finds the net from 20 yards, sets record for most goals in FIFA World Cup history – Watch |: Football News:

Lionel Messi became the top goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history after scoring his 17th goal of the tournament in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria on Monday. The Argentina captain later added another goal in stoppage time to take his tally to 18.Messi reached the landmark in the 38th minute, just two days before his 39th birthday. With the strike, Messi scored in his sixth consecutive World Cup match, joining France’s Just Fontaine and Brazil’s Jairzinho as the only players to achieve the feat.The Argentina captain drew level with Germany’s Miroslav Klose on 16 World Cup goals after scoring his first hat-trick of the tournament in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria in their opening Group J match on Tuesday in Kansas City.He had an early chance to put Klose ahead against Austria but missed a penalty in the ninth minute.Argentina, who won both of their group games, has secured a place in the knockout stage. Messi has scored all five of Argentina’s goals in the tournament so far, which is his sixth World Cup.His record-breaking goal came when Thiago Almada allowed Facundo Medina’s pass to go past Messi. From about 20 yards, Messi put his shot past goalkeeper Alexander Schlager, who made the wrong move.After scoring, Messi ran to the corner and raised his right arm as the Argentina crowd celebrated inside the sold-out stadium, which drew 70,649 home fans to the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.The same crowd reacted moments earlier when Messi missed from the penalty spot. His left-footed effort went just wide of the right post. He has now converted four of the seven penalty kicks taken during regular play in World Cup matches and has missed penalties in three consecutive tournaments.Messi’s second goal came in stoppage time. After his first effort was saved by Schlager, he sent the rebound through several defenders and into the net.Klose scored his 16 World Cup goals in 24 games for Germany. His last World Cup appearance came in Germany’s 1-0 extra-time win over Argentina in the 2014 final.In an interview published on June 12, Klose said he expects Messi to break his record.“I hope my record will fall in this tournament,” Klose told German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung.“With a bigger field of competing teams there will be more games and more chances to score goals. And I believe that Argentina and France will go far. That’s OK, the record will be broken in the end anyway and Messi is welcome to be the one who does it. I’m a big fan of Messi, always. Messi is a genius.”Messi’s hat-trick against Algeria came on his 200th international appearance and exactly 20 years after his World Cup debut in Germany, where he also scored. Monday’s game will be his FIFA-record 28th World Cup appearance.