🗞️ Messi is eternal, the world bows to the king of World Cups 🐐 | OneFootball

Leo Messi’s display against Austria (2-0), in which he scored a brace and reached a historic 18 World Cup goals, has sparked collective frenzy across the front pages of the world’s leading sports newspapers on June 23, 2026.

In Spain, MARCA leads emphatically with the headline "MESSI 18", highlighting that he surpassed Miroslav Klose’s all-time record despite missing an early penalty.

Meanwhile, SPORT declares him in huge letters as "THE BEST IN HISTORY", noting that his brace launches the Argentine star into eternity and seals his team’s place in the final stage of the tournament.

The praise goes far beyond Spain’s borders. In Italy, Corriere dello Sport has dubbed the day "LEOLAND" on a spectacular front page, hailing his 5 goals in just two matches.

From France, L'Équipe brilliantly headlines "MAÎTRE DU MONDE" (Master of the world) and reminds readers that, at 38, he is the competition’s most prolific player. In his homeland, Olé sums up the general feeling with an emotional and historic "(THERE ARE NO MORE WORDS)".

Even the British and Scottish press have set aside their usual restraint to join the praise. Newspapers such as The Herald Sport Scotland, Star Sport, Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail unanimously place the "10" in a class entirely of his own, immortalizing a historic day on which football rewrote its record books forever.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.

📸 PAUL ELLIS - AFP or licensors