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Austria head coach Ralf Rangnick expressed his anger over what he described as inconsistent officiating following Lionel Messi’s opening goal in his team’s 2-0 defeat to Argentina.

Messi struck twice in the defending champions’ victory in Dallas on Monday, surpassing Miroslav Klose to become the highest goalscorer in World Cup history.

However, Rangnick voiced strong displeasure about what he believed was a foul in the build-up to the first goal, after Alexis Mac Allister’s robust challenge on Xaver Schlager.

“If someone is 39 years old and can score two goals and five overall at the start of the World Cup, that makes a difference,” Rangnick said about Messi, who had earlier missed a penalty following a VAR review by referee Amin Omar.

“We knew he was on a different level, and Lionel Messi showed he’s one of the greatest, if not the greatest. But we contributed to the second goal ourselves, that was our mistake.”

“For the first goal, I would have asked the fourth official to do what he did before the penalty – to check it again. He would have seen what everyone else saw, a foul on Xaver Schlager. It was frustrating. Still, I’m overall happy with my team and the way they played today.”

Messi’s brace established him as the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history with 18 goals. Rangnick conceded that it was nearly impossible to contain the former Barcelona star for the entire 90 minutes. “This is Lionel Messi,” he remarked. “He doesn’t need many chances to decide a match.”

Austria had already claimed three points from their 3-1 win over Jordan in their opening fixture, leaving them still in contention for a knockout stage berth when they face Algeria in their final group match. Despite the defeat to Argentina, Rangnick praised several aspects of his team’s display at Dallas Stadium.

“In every World Cup match, there are periods when one team has the momentum,” he explained. “It was on our side when they missed the penalty, and after that, we were fully in the game. I would have liked my players to be more courageous, to take more shots during the second half. We controlled possession much more than people expected.”

“I think our second-half performance was top-class,” Rangnick added.