Messi breaks World Cup record as VAR silence costs Austria

Messi double sinks Austria, Rangnick livid at VAR

Austria 0–2 Argentina, and you deserved more. Messi scored both goals to become the all-time World Cup top scorer with 18 (1) (5), but the first one should never have stood. Xaver Schlager was fouled in the buildup, and VAR stayed silent. Rangnick did not hold back: "Da wäre mehr drin gewesen", more was in it (1) (3). The second goal came late on the counter, and Rangnick called it "extrem ärgerlich", extremely annoying, especially how Austria contributed to it (1). Before that, everything pointed to 1–0 (1).

Rangnick: courageous, but not enough

"Insgesamt war der Auftritt so, wie wir uns das eigentlich vorgenommen hatten: mutig, couragiert", overall the performance was exactly what Austria had planned: brave, courageous (1) (3). Rangnick acknowledged Argentina are much more than just Messi (4), and for long stretches his team matched them. Messi called it "ein harter, ein schwieriger Sieg", a hard, difficult win, and admitted the result brought Argentina calm (4).

Müller and Klopp break down the Messi masterclass

On MagentaTV, Thomas Müller put it plainly: "Die Dinge, die Leo macht, die sind nicht immer nur magisch, die sind einfach, clean, vorausschauend", what Messi does is not always magic, it is simple, clean, anticipatory. Positioning anyone could theoretically learn (5). Jürgen Klopp was alongside him, and Di María joined the praise on Instagram after the show (6).

Group J: everything still open

Austria beat Jordan 3–1 in the opener (1). Argentina now top the group with two wins. Your next group match is now decisive. Elsewhere, Mbappé scored twice in a storm-delayed match and both France and Norway have qualified for the knockout stage (8).

Weinhauer picks Blau-Weiß Linz over Aue

Erik Weinhauer, the Regionalliga Nordost top scorer, has signed for Blau-Weiß Linz. The Austrian second-tier side beat Erzgebirge Aue to his signature (2). A boost for the 2. Liga side.