Messi makes history again: Argentina see off Jordan 3-1 to win Group J with a perfect nine

A heavily-rotated Argentina beat Jordan 3-1 to win Group J with maximum points. Giovani Lo Celso and a Lautaro Martínez penalty did the early damage before substitute Lionel Messi curled in a record-breaking free kick: his 6th of 2026, 19th World Cup goal, and a 7th straight scoring match. Mousa Al-Taamari replied for debutants Jordan.

Even in second gear, with their greatest player starting on the bench, the world champions were a class apart. Argentina beat Jordan 3-1 in Arlington to wrap up an unbeaten Group J campaign with a perfect nine points, and Lionel Messi still found a way to write another page of history.

Lionel Scaloni made nine changes to rest his key starters, yet Argentina dominated from the whistle. Giovani Lo Celso struck first on nineteen minutes with a brilliant free kick into the top corner, and Lautaro Martínez doubled the lead on thirty-one from the penalty spot, after a VAR-approved foul on Marcos Senesi.

Jordan, on their World Cup debut, refused to be cowed. Substitute Mousa Al-Taamari pulled one back on fifty-five minutes, turning in an accurate Ehsan Haddad cross to spark joy among the travelling support. It was a goal their resilience deserved.

Then came the moment everyone had waited for. Lionel Messi came off the bench on the hour and, on eighty minutes, curled in a low, trademark free kick to settle it. The records tumbled with it. It was Messi's sixth goal of this World Cup and his nineteenth in tournament history, and it made him the first player ever to score in seven consecutive World Cup matches. At thirty-nine, he simply will not stop.

The supporting cast made history of their own. Leandro Paredes completed 154 passes, a record for an Argentine player in a single World Cup match since 1966, while Nicolás Otamendi made his 17th World Cup appearance to become Argentina's most-capped defender in tournament history. This is a champion side with depth and milestones to spare.

Argentina top Group J with maximum points and move into the Round of 32 against the tournament's great surprise package, Cape Verde, in Miami. Jordan bow out bottom but with their heads high after a competitive debut tournament, while the Algeria-Austria thriller settled the rest of the group.

For Kenya, this was Messi mania, pure and simple. With no Harambee Stars at the finals, local fans have adopted Argentina almost as their own, and Messi scoring a free kick to make more history had the group chats and sports bars buzzing. Now the dream tie looms: Messi against Cape Verde's African fairytale, a genuine "Africa versus Messi" occasion that Nairobi cannot wait for. Messi bado ni Messi, hesabu zinaendelea: Messi is still Messi, and the records keep counting. Our look at Messi's all-time World Cup record tracks every step, and our South America verdict had Argentina as the team to beat.