Despite starting on the bench, Lionel Messi scored his sixth goal at this year\u2019s World Cup in Argentina<\/a>\u2018s win over Jordan<\/a> to make history.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Lionel Messi<\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Having already secured top spot in the group and a date with Cape Verde<\/a> in the last 32, Messi started as a substitute, but was still able to make an impact off the bench.<\/p>\n Messi became the first player to score in seven World Cup appearances in a row, while also netting his sixth goal of the tournament\u00a0to pull clear\u00a0in the race for the Golden Boot.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nicol\u00e1s Otamendi<\/a>, wearing the captain\u2019s armband in place of Messi from the start, headed the game\u2019s first opportunity over the crossbar from\u00a0Giovani Lo Celso<\/a>\u2018s corner, with the latter opening the scoring in the 19th minute.\u00a0<\/p>\n After Lo Celso was fouled on the edge of the penalty area by\u00a0Mohannad Abu Taha<\/a>, the Real Betis midfielder dusted himself down and fired the resulting free-kick past\u00a0Yazeed Abulaila and into the top-left corner on his World Cup debut.<\/p>\n Argentina\u2019s pressure continued, but Lautaro Mart\u00ednez<\/a> could only turn\u00a0Nicol\u00e1s Tagliafico<\/a>\u2018s cross onto the woodwork before\u00a0Abulaila did brilliantly to keep out\u00a0Marcos Senesi<\/a> on the rebound, but Lionel Scaloni\u2019s side were awarded a penalty for the incident.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nizar Al Rashdan<\/a>\u2018s high boot caught new Tottenham defender Senesi on his face\u00a0as he stooped down to make contact with the ball, and referee\u00a0Istvan Kovacs awarded the spot-kick after a VAR review as Mart\u00ednez sent\u00a0Abulaila the wrong way from 12 yards out.<\/p>\n Otamendi and\u00a0Juli\u00e1n Alvarez<\/a> both came close to increasing Argentina\u2019s advantage before the break and Mart\u00ednez struck the crossbar again early in the second half, but as Messi was preparing to enter the action, Jordan halved the deficit when substitute\u00a0Mousa Al Tamari turned in\u00a0Ehsan Haddad\u2019s inch-perfect delivery.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, the result was sealed with another moment of individual brilliance from Messi. After skipping past\u00a0Amer Jamous<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Scaloni confirmed ahead of kick-off that Messi, who had scored five\u00a0goals in Argentina\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lo Celso got the ball rolling with a stunning strike, becoming the\u00a0first 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Martinez, meanwhile, netted his first World Cup goal in what was his ninth appearance in the competition and with his 17th shot.\u00a0It was his 38th goal for Argentina, making him the nation\u2019s fourth-highest goalscorer.<\/p>\n 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).\u00a0<\/p>\n His brilliant finish also saw Argentina become the\u00a0fourth 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).<\/p>\n Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Jordan vs Argentina stats from their 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a> Group J clash in Dallas on Saturday.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n![\"Jordan](\"https:\/\/theanalyst.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/jordan-1-3-argentina-world-cup-stats-1024x768.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"Lionel](\"https:\/\/theanalyst.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/lionel-messi-world-cup-goals-1-1024x768.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\nMartinez Ends World Cup Drought While Lo Celso Enjoys Dream Debut<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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