Messi scores from the bench as Argentina beats Jordan 3-1 to top Group J
Messi came off the bench and still scored as Argentina beat Jordan 3-1, but the bigger question is whether the rest of the roster can carry the knockout run.
Argentina finished the group stage with a 3-1 win over Jordan in Arlington, Texas, and Lionel Messi still found a way to leave the match as the central figure. Entering from the bench, Messi scored in the 80th minute after Giovani Lo Celso and Lautaro Martínez had already put Argentina in command.
Lo Celso opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a direct free kick, giving Argentina an early edge in a match that was already tilted toward the defending powers of the squad. Martínez doubled the lead in the 31st minute from the penalty spot, and Messi sealed the result late after coming off the bench. The sequence gave Argentina a clean finish to a group stage it completed with three wins in three matches and first place in Group J.
The result also sharpened the broader question surrounding Argentina’s run. FIFA said Argentina had already secured the top spot in the group before kickoff, which is why several regular starters were rotated. That made the match less about survival and more about whether the players behind Messi could manage the load when the margin for error narrows. Lo Celso’s set piece and Martínez’s penalty offered one answer; Messi’s late finish offered another, but it also underscored how often Argentina still turns to its captain when the game needs a final seal.
Messi’s goal was his sixth of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and lifted him to 19 career World Cup goals, extending his place at the top of the tournament’s all-time scoring list. Argentina now turns to Cabo Verde in the Round of 32, with the match scheduled for July 3, 2026, at 22:00 in Miami Stadium. The group stage ended perfectly for Argentina, but the knockout round will ask a different question: how much of the burden can the rest of the roster absorb when Messi is not the only answer?
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