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Argentina Seeks Early World Cup Progress as Messi Chases Scoring Record

A win would clinch Argentina's place in the round of 16 making Messi one goal away from surpassing Miroslav Klose's World Cup total.

Overview

  • Argentina faces Austria in Dallas on Monday, June 22, and a victory would give the champions six points and effectively secure advancement to the round of 16.
  • Lionel Messi enters the match after a hat-trick in the opener and sits on 16 World Cup goals so a single strike would make him the tournament's outright leading scorer.
  • Coach Lionel Scaloni has not confirmed his starting XI but is expected to replace the injured Gonzalo Montiel with Nahuel Molina at right back as he manages player fitness.
  • Austria arrive after a 3-1 opening win and report that captain David Alaba and Alessandro Schöpf trained with the squad and are in contention to start.
  • FIFA-appointed referee Amin Mohamed Omar will take charge with VAR officials named and the match will be shown across multiple national and international TV and streaming platforms; separately, Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said Neymar is fit and will be available for Brazil's upcoming match against Scotland.