Lionel Messi has done it again.

The Argentine superstar scored twice on Monday to become the all-time leading goal scorer in FIFA World Cup history, leading defending champions Argentina to a 2-0 victory over Austria and strengthening their position in Group J.

Messi entered the match tied with German legend Miroslav Klose on 16 World Cup goals. By the end of the night, he stood alone at the top with 18.

The historic evening didn’t begin perfectly. Messi had an opportunity to break the record early from the penalty spot but pushed his shot just wide of the post, extending a surprising run of missed penalties across multiple World Cups.

However, the setback was only temporary.

In the 38th minute, Messi finally found the breakthrough, scoring his record-breaking 17th World Cup goal to give Argentina a 1-0 lead. Then, after halftime, he struck again to put the match out of reach and become the first player ever to score 18 goals at the men’s FIFA World Cup.

The brace extends Messi’s incredible streak to six consecutive World Cup matches with a goal and comes only days after he recorded the first World Cup hat trick of his career in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria.

The achievement is even more emotional given reports that Messi’s father, Jorge Messi, is currently undergoing medical treatment for an undisclosed illness. Following Argentina’s previous match, Messi admitted he had been dealing with difficult personal days away from football.

Now playing in his sixth World Cup and appearing in a record 28th tournament match, Messi continues to rewrite football history at age 38.

Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria keeps the defending champions firmly on course for another deep World Cup run. And once again, Messi was at the center of it all.

With 18 World Cup goals and counting, the greatest player of his generation continues to build a legacy that may never be matched.