Despite starting on the bench, Lionel Messi scored his sixth goal at this year’s World Cup in Argentina‘s win over Jordan to make history.

Lionel Messi made more World Cup history as his 80th-minute free-kick helped Argentina maintain their perfect Group J record with a 3-1 victory over Jordan at Dallas Stadium. 

Having already secured top spot in the group and a date with Cape Verde in the last 32, Messi started as a substitute, but was still able to make an impact off the bench.

Messi became the first player to score in seven World Cup appearances in a row, while also netting his sixth goal of the tournament to pull clear in the race for the Golden Boot. 

Nicolás Otamendi, wearing the captain’s armband in place of Messi from the start, headed the game’s first opportunity over the crossbar from Giovani Lo Celso‘s corner, with the latter opening the scoring in the 19th minute. 

After Lo Celso was fouled on the edge of the penalty area by Mohannad Abu Taha, the Real Betis midfielder dusted himself down and fired the resulting free-kick past Yazeed Abulaila and into the top-left corner on his World Cup debut.

Argentina’s pressure continued, but Lautaro Martínez could only turn Nicolás Tagliafico‘s cross onto the woodwork before Abulaila did brilliantly to keep out Marcos Senesi on the rebound, but Lionel Scaloni’s side were awarded a penalty for the incident. 

Nizar Al Rashdan‘s high boot caught new Tottenham defender Senesi on his face as he stooped down to make contact with the ball, and referee Istvan Kovacs awarded the spot-kick after a VAR review as Martínez sent Abulaila the wrong way from 12 yards out.

Otamendi and Julián Alvarez both came close to increasing Argentina’s advantage before the break and Martínez struck the crossbar again early in the second half, but as Messi was preparing to enter the action, Jordan halved the deficit when substitute Mousa Al Tamari turned in Ehsan Haddad’s inch-perfect delivery. 

However, the result was sealed with another moment of individual brilliance from Messi. After skipping past Amer Jamous and winning a free-kick, the Argentina number 10 curled the set-piece around the Jordan wall and into the net for his record-extending 19th World Cup goal.

Martinez Ends World Cup Drought While Lo Celso Enjoys Dream Debut

Scaloni confirmed ahead of kick-off that Messi, who had scored five goals in Argentina’s opening two matches at the World Cup, would start on the bench against Jordan, and both Martinez and Lo Celso stepped up in his absence. 

Lo Celso got the ball rolling with a stunning strike, becoming the first Argentina player to score on his World Cup debut since Martin Palermo against Greece in 2010, while also becoming the second Argentine player to score a direct free-kick at the World Cup in the 21st century, after Messi against Nigeria 12 years ago. 

Martinez, meanwhile, netted his first World Cup goal in what was his ninth appearance in the competition and with his 17th shot. It was his 38th goal for Argentina, making him the nation’s fourth-highest goalscorer.

But Messi, of course, had to have his say. After celebrating his 39th birthday earlier this week, he is only the second Argentine to play in a World Cup match aged 39, after Angel Labruna in 1958 (two games). 

His brilliant finish also saw Argentina become the fourth team since 1966 to score multiple direct free-kick goals in a World Cup match after Japan (vs. Denmark in 2010), Yugoslavia (vs. Congo DR in 1974) and Brazil (vs. Bulgaria in 1966).

Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Jordan vs Argentina stats from their 2026 FIFA World Cup Group J clash in Dallas on Saturday.

The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.

Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well. 

Jordan vs Argentina: Post-Match Opta Facts

• Lionel Messi has scored in each of his last seven FIFA World Cup appearances for Argentina, setting a new FIFA World Cup record, netting 11 goals in total across that run (5 in the last 4 matches in Qatar 2022, 6 in three matches in 2026).
• Argentina have become only the second team to start two players aged 38+ in a single FIFA World Cup edition, with Lionel Messi and Nicolás Otamendi following Brazil’s Thiago Silva and Dani Alves in 2022.
• Argentina have won six of their seven FIFA World Cup matches against AFC nations, only losing to Saudi Arabia in 2022.
• Lautaro Martínez scored his first FIFA World Cup goal in his ninth appearance in the competition and with his 17th shot. It was his 38th goal for Argentina, making him the nation’s fourth-highest goalscorer.
• Jordan are the first team to score in each of their first three FIFA World Cup matches since Côte d’Ivoire in 2006.
• Nicolás Otamendi has reached 17 FIFA World Cup appearances, overtaking Oscar Ruggeri (16) as Argentina’s most-capped defender in the competition’s history.
• Leandro Paredes completed 154 passes for Argentina against Jordan, a record for an Argentine player in a single FIFA World Cup match and the sixth-highest total by any player in the competition since 1966.
• Argentina are the fourth team since 1966 to score multiple direct free-kick goals in a FIFA World Cup match after Japan (vs. Denmark in 2010), Yugoslavia (vs. Congo DR in 1974) and Brazil (vs. Bulgaria in 1966).
• Since the start of Qatar 2022, Argentina have been awarded seven penalties in 10 FIFA World Cup matches, more than England (3 in 8), France (2 in 10) and Portugal (2 in 8) over the same period.

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