Lionel Messi broke another World Cup record as Argentina secured a 2-0 win over Austria on Monday, but coach Lionel Scaloni admitted he is growing tired of constantly talking about his captain’s achievements.
Messi scored both goals at Dallas Stadium to take his World Cup tally to 18. The Argentina star moved past Miroslav Klose, who scored 16 goals, and also surpassed Marta, who had 17 goals across men’s and women’s World Cups.
Scaloni praised Messi’s work rate and commitment after the match.
“When the team was having a rough time without the ball he worked, he managed to steal the ball,” Scaloni said of his former teammate. “You could see his level of commitment.
“There’s a reason for that, he has commitment and this is what he generates. I have no more words to talk about Leo. It makes us a little bit tired talking about him all the time.”
Messi missed a penalty in the eighth minute but recovered well. He opened the scoring after half an hour to break the record. He then added a second goal deep into stoppage time to seal the victory.
Argentina controlled most of the match despite leading by only one goal for a long period. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez had little to do, making just one important save before Messi finished off the game late on.
“It had been complex,” Scaloni said of the challenge presented by Austria. “We had the peace of mind we needed toward the end. I’m so happy with Leo’s performance, he scored again when we are suffering.
“The team did suffer today, at times they were creating difficulties and we didn’t have possession. We know how to suffer and that’s something praiseworthy as a team.
“The team knows how to behave at all times. This was an opponent that had very tall players, that posed a challenge. No one thought this would be easy. The two matches we have had so far have been complex.”
The win confirmed Argentina’s place in the knockout stage after back to back victories in Group J. Scaloni believes the defending champions remain among the strongest teams in the tournament.
“This World Cup has nothing to do with playing favourites or the players in the national teams,” he said. “There are other elements at play, the levels of fitness, the emotional element.
“There are so many teams that can win, one of the big ones will win. We will be there, we will be one of the contenders, but it will be hard facing one of these big teams.
“But it will be hard for them facing us.”
