Argentina finished the group stage with a three-game sweep after beating Jordan 3-1 on Saturday night in Arlington, Texas, in front of a pro-Argentina crowd of 70,649 at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. The match was already tilted by the structure of the tournament and the power of a team that had clinched first place in Group J before Lionel Messi even stepped onto the field. Messi came off the bench in the 60th minute and scored in the 80th, extending the all-time men’s World Cup scoring record to 19 goals and becoming the first player to score in seven consecutive World Cup games.
Who Gets the Spotlight
Giovani Lo Celso put Argentina ahead in the 19th minute with a direct free kick, becoming the first Argentina player other than Messi to score in this World Cup. Lautaro Martinez made it 2-0 with a penalty kick in the 31st minute. Jordan answered through Mousa Altamari in the 55th minute, but the gap in resources, depth, and tournament control remained obvious as Argentina kept rotating through its options and Jordan tried to survive the pressure.
Messi did not start because Argentina had already clinched first place in Group J. He entered for Lautaro Martinez in the 60th minute, after fans had already started chanting his name as soon as the second half began. They cheered again when he came off the bench to warm up and once more when he entered the match. After being taken down just outside the penalty area, Messi curled a low free kick that split two Jordan defenders into the left corner of the net.
The Apparatus at Work
Messi’s goal was his 72nd career goal on a free kick, including his 12th for Argentina. He now has 123 international goals in 202 appearances, second all-time to Cristiano Ronaldo’s 145. Before breaking the tie, he had been one of only three players to score in six consecutive World Cup games, along with France striker Just Fontaine and Brazil great Jairzinho. He also scored on a free kick against Nigeria in the 2014 World Cup and is among six players since records are available dating to 1966 who scored two free kick goals in the World Cup, joining Pelé, Rivellino, Téofilo Cubillas, Bernard Genghini and David Beckham.
Messi was in his first match since turning 39 three days earlier. He had been dealing with a minor hamstring injury with Inter Miami that slowed him in the lead-up to the World Cup. Argentina’s coach Lionel Scaloni said through a translator, “What you’re seeing, I’m seeing the same thing,” and added, “It’s a little bit of an uncomfortable situation every single time people ask because I no longer know what to say.” Scaloni also said, “Today he could have played 90 minutes,” and, “He wanted his teammates to have time on the pitch and to save himself also for what’s coming up now. He doesn’t think so much about the numbers that people are talking about.”
Lo Celso said in translated remarks, “I am very happy for him, for the moment he is having,” and added, “The truth is that seeing him every day excites, excites and infects a lot. So obviously seeing him like that for us is very important.” Lo Celso also said, “I waited a lot for this moment, I dreamed it a lot and I think that what I saw today was much more than what I had imagined or dreamed.”
Who Pays for the Tournament
Jordan’s coach Jamal Sellami said through an interpreter, “As a first participant in the World Cup, I believe that the most important thing that we can come out of in terms of lessons is for the players to have experienced firsthand what they were trained on,” and, “Now they are more aware of the requirements of such competition.” Jordan, the world’s 72nd-ranked team, was outscored 8-3 in losing all games in its first appearance in the international tournament.
Argentina has seven wins and two draws in its last nine World Cup games. It was the fifth time Argentina has won all of its matches in the group stage and the first since back-to-back tournaments in 2010 and 2014. Argentina has 14 wins, two losses and three draws in its last 19 group games. France and Mexico were the only other squads in the expanded 48-team World Cup to get the maximum nine points in the group stage.
Argentina plays in the round of 32 on Friday against Cape Verde in Miami, the home of Messi’s Major League Soccer team. The knockout round for Argentina begins Friday in South Florida, and in the expanded 48-team tournament that would be the first of five matches in 17 days if Argentina makes it to the final on July 19.
Nicolás Paz made his World Cup debut subbing in for Messi late in the 3-0 win over Algeria in the opener and made his first start in Messi’s spot against Jordan. Paz and Lo Celso were joined by forwards Marcos Senesi and Giuliano Simeone making first World Cup starts. Lautaro Martinez and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez were the only players to start all three of Argentina’s group matches. After Martinez shot off the crossbar, Julian Alvarez followed with a header that was deflected by keeper Yazeed Abulaila over the net. A VAR replay showed that Alvarez took a kick to the face on the play, setting up the penalty. Only a couple of minutes after Lo Celso was offside when he kicked the ball in the net but did not count for a goal, he got a free kick after being tripped up just outside the penalty box by Mohannad Abutaha, who drew a yellow card. That was the first direct free kick for an Argentina goal in a World Cup since Messi against Nigeria in 2014.