Messi scores in seventh straight World Cup match as Argentina beat Jordan 3-1 to finish perfect group
Lionel Messi broke the record for consecutive World Cup matches with a goal, scoring a late free kick as Argentina defeated Jordan 3-1 to complete the group stage with nine points.
Group stage finale
Argentina concluded their Group J campaign with a 3-1 victory over Jordan at Dallas Stadium, becoming one of only three teams (alongside France and Mexico) to finish the group phase with a maximum nine points. Coach Lionel Scaloni made nine changes to the side that had beaten Austria, resting most regular starters.
Messi breaks scoring streak record
Lionel Messi came off the bench in the 60th minute to a huge ovation and, with ten minutes remaining, curled a low free kick from 25 metres past Jordan's goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila. The goal was his sixth of the tournament and his 19th overall at World Cups, a record. More notably, it made him the first player to find the net in seven consecutive World Cup matches, breaking the shared mark of six held by Just Fontaine of France and Jairzinho of Brazil. The streak began against Australia at the 2022 finals and includes strikes against the Netherlands, Croatia, two in the 2022 final against France, a hat-trick versus Algeria and a brace against Austria earlier in this tournament.
Early goals and Jordan's reply
Argentina took the lead through Giovani Lo Celso's curling left-footed free kick in the 19th minute after a foul on the Real Betis midfielder. Lautaro Martinez doubled the advantage from the penalty spot in the 31st minute, awarded after a VAR review for a high boot by Nizar Alrashdan on Leandro Paredes. Jordan pulled one back ten minutes after the interval when substitute Mousa Altamari, the Rennes forward, slid home a low cross from captain Ehsan Haddad. The goal was the first conceded by Argentina at these finals, ending Emiliano Martinez's two-match clean sheet.
- 19th minute: Giovani Lo Celso scores from a direct free kick
- 31st minute: Lautaro Martinez converts a penalty to make it 2-0
- 55th minute: Mousa Altamari pulls one back for Jordan
- 60th minute: Lionel Messi enters the match as a substitute
- 80th minute: Messi scores a free kick to become the first player to net in seven consecutive World Cup matches
Next: Cape Verde in Miami
Argentina now travel to Miami to face Cape Verde, the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout stage, in the round of 32 on Friday. Messi, who plays his club football for Inter Miami, will be on familiar ground as the defending champions begin the knockout phase.
