Messi makes World Cup history as Argentina ease past Jordan

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GOAL

·28 juin 2026

Messi makes World Cup history as Argentina ease past Jordan

Argentina completed a perfect group stage with a comfortable 3–1 victory over Jordan in Dallas, with all three goals coming from set pieces. Giovani Lo Celso opened the scoring with a curling free kick before Lautaro Martinez converted a penalty, and substitute Lionel Messi sealed the win with a historic 80th-minute strike.

Mousa Tamari's second-half goal provided Jordan with a highlight from their debut World Cup campaign, but the reigning champions were never seriously troubled. GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Jordan v Argentina.

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Winners

Lionel Messi (Argentina)

Messi extended his all-time World Cup goalscoring record to 19 with his 80th-minute free kick, becoming the first player in tournament history to score in seven consecutive finals matches. The 39-year-old needed just 20 minutes after coming off the bench to make the decisive contribution.

His low left-footed strike found a gap through Jordan's defensive wall and crept past goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila into the bottom left corner. The goal restored Argentina's two-goal cushion at a moment when Jordan had reduced the deficit to one following Tamari's strike at 55'.

Beyond the goal, Messi immediately became the focal point of Argentina's attacks upon entering, providing the pass for Jose Manuel Lopez's shot that was deflected for a corner. His sixth goal of the tournament consolidated his position as the competition's leading scorer heading into the knockout rounds.

Giovani Lo Celso (Argentina)

Lo Celso delivered Argentina's opening goal with a perfectly placed free kick in the 19th minute, curling his left-footed effort into the top left corner with Abulaila poorly positioned. The midfielder became the first Argentina player other than Messi to score at this World Cup.

The Tottenham man was Argentina's main creative force in the first hour, with two further finishes ruled out for offside at 7' and 48'. He drew the foul from Abu Taha that led directly to his free kick goal, and was described as fundamental to Argentina's ball circulation throughout his 60 minutes.

Lo Celso's departure for Thiago Almada came with Argentina leading 2–0 and his tournament contribution firmly established. After missing the 2022 World Cup through injury having been called up in 2018 without playing, he finally delivered on the biggest stage.

Loser

Yazeed Abulaila (Jordan)

Jordan's goalkeeper was poorly positioned on both free kicks that resulted in Argentina goals, standing too close to his near post for Lo Celso's curling effort and failing to react adequately to Messi's low strike through the wall. His positioning proved the decisive weakness in Jordan's defensive setup.

Abulaila also dived the wrong way on Lautaro Martinez's penalty in the 31st minute, allowing the striker to convert into the bottom left corner with ease. The goalkeeper had made two impressive saves earlier, denying Senesi with a reflex stop and getting down well to save Julian Alvarez's strike.

Those positive moments could not offset the structural errors that directly contributed to all three Argentina goals. Jordan's debut World Cup ends without a point, and their goalkeeper's set-piece positioning was exposed repeatedly by Argentina's dead-ball quality.