Argentina kept its star player sidelined until the 60th minute Saturday and earned a 3-1 victory over Jordan behind all-time World Cup leading scorer Lionel Messi.
Ahead of Saturday’s match, Messi had scored all five of Argentina’s goals in the 2026 World Cup, recording his 17th career tournament goal to take the scoring lead before adding an 18th in a 2-0 win over Austria in Group J.
With Argentina already having clinched a spot in the Round of 32 with two group-stage wins and Jordan eliminated after losing its first two matches, Messi was rested for most of the match.
That is until he netted his sixth goal of the tournament, scored on an 80th-minute free kick to become the first player to score in seven consecutive World Cup appearances.
Giovani Lo Celso opened the scoring for Argentina with a free kick in the 19th minute after Jordan’s Mohannad Abu Taha was shown a yellow card for a foul.
Lautaro Martínez converted a penalty in the 31st minute, sending a shot into the bottom-left corner as Argentina built a 2-0 lead and appeared to be holding its own without Messi.
Jordan notched its first goal in the 55th minute to cut the deficit to 2-1. Then came Messi, doing what he does best.
Messi continued his hot streak with a goal in the 80th minute to give Argentina a 3-1 lead that would hold.
Messi and Argentina will open Round of 32 play Friday at 6 p.m. ET at Hard Rock Stadium in Florida.
This content was brought to you by: Bleacher Report – Front Page
