With this victory — much harder-fought against a more demanding opponent — the "Albiceleste" became the fourth team to advance to the Round of 32, joining Mexico, the United States, and Germany, all of whom qualified in their first two matches.

At the eighth minute, Messi took the ball to execute a penalty after a foul on Lautaro inside the area by the Austrian defense, but "La Pulga" struck it poorly and the shot went wide past the goalkeeper's left post. With that miss, Messi has now missed three penalties in World Cups — not counting shootouts — from eight attempts across his World Cup history. The other two misses came against Iceland in Russia 2018, when goalkeeper Hannes Halldórsson saved it, and against Poland in Qatar 2022, when Wojciech Szczęsny stopped the shot.

Despair overtook the "Number 10" and the millions of Argentines who paused their activities to enjoy their team's second match at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Many felt it was a bad omen. It served as a spur for the Central European team, who intensified their attack and came close to opening the scoring but lacked finishing.

However, the Rosario-born forward recovered and at the 38th minute of the first half completed a play, taking advantage of the rival defense's lapse that left him unmarked. After the break, in the final stretch of the second half, Messi scored again with great goal-scoring instinct. "He is playing for posterity," described a TyC Sports commentator. "Now at 39, which he will turn in a couple of days, he plays better than when he had the vigor of youth," his broadcast partner responded.

In two matches of this World Cup qualifying stage, the Rosario-born marksman already has five goals. Unlike the first match against Algeria, the Argentine team delivered a better collective performance — it was not only Messi creating dangerous plays; Lautaro, Paredes, Almada, and Nico González contributed much more to the attack. Molina, Romero, and Lisandro Martínez were pillars in defense, and in midfield, Enzo, De Paul, and Medina contained Austrian breakouts well in an intense match with many changes in ball control.

Head coach Lionel Scaloni expressed great satisfaction with his players' performance in a post-match press conference; however, he noted that there is always room to play better, and reaffirmed that Argentina is in the fight, though he admitted that other top teams also have chances to win. "What remains is to maintain balance," he said.

In Buenos Aires, it felt like a final: thousands of residents gathered at the "Fan Fest" in the Palermo neighborhood, where they followed the match on large screens, with other gathering points across the city as well, while others preferred cafes and bars.