Angel Di Maria reacted with a three-word message on social media after Lionel Messi scored twice to give Argentina a 2-0 victory over Austria in their second group stage match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
It was another record-breaking match for Messi, who etched his name in the FIFA World Cup history books. The 38-year-old had endured an unwanted start to the game as he missed a penalty in the ninth minute, becoming the first player to miss a penalty at the 2026 World Cup and the player with the most penalty misses (3), excluding shootouts, in the competition’s history since 1966.
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The Argentine maestro went on to silence his critics, giving his side the lead in the 38th minute. In the process, he became the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history, surpassing Miroslav Klose. A few seconds before the final whistle, he fired home his second goal of the game from a tight angle to seal a 2-0 victory and send Argentina into the round of 32.
The Inter Miami man has since earned praise from all corners for his incredible display. Di Maria, who was instrumental in La Albiceleste’s journey to glory in the 2022 edition, could not resist lauding his former teammate’s amazing display against Austria.
The former Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain man shared a video of Messi in the Argentina colours on his Instagram story and accompanied it with the caption:
“Que locura enano,” which when translated to English means “That’s crazy, dwarf.”
Di Maria retired from the Argentina national team after helping the country win the 2024 Copa America final. Besides their shared nationality, Di Maria also played alongside Messi at club level, with the pair playing for PSG between 2021 and 2022.
Austria boss Ralf Rangnick heaps praise on Lionel Messi after scoring brace in World Cup clash
Austria national team boss Ralf Rangnick was in awe of Lionel Messi’s heroics after the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner singlehandedly gave Argentina the victory against his team. Speaking in the post-match press conference, Rangnick praised the forward for being clinical in the game.
“This is Lionel Messi. He doesn’t need many situations to decide a match,” Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said, as quoted by Sportstar.
In addition to surpassing Klose, Lionel Messi’s 18th World Cup goal saw him move ahead of Brazil’s Marta as the player with the most World Cup goals ever. Next up for Messi and Argentina is a clash against Jordan.
Edited by Ezekiel Olamide