Argentina finished the group stage with a perfect record, but it was Jordan — not the defending champions — who made the headlines for the opening hour in Arlington. Lionel Scaloni rotated his XI heavily with the trophy already secured for top spot, and that meant the sight nobody expected to see in a World Cup group game: Lionel Messi, named among the substitutes.
Argentina still found their goals without him. Giovani Lo Celso curled a free kick into the top corner in the 19th minute, and Lautaro Martínez doubled the lead from the penalty spot in the 31st. It looked routine. Then, midway through the second half, Jordan did something no team had managed against Argentina all tournament — they scored. Mousa Al-Tamari swept in a sensational finish from an Ehsan Haddad cross after a flowing move that carried Jordan the length of the pitch, and suddenly Arlington had a contest.
Scaloni's response was to send for the GOAT. Messi was on within minutes of Al-Tamari's goal, and with ten minutes left he did what he has done in every one of Argentina's World Cup matches for the better part of a decade: he scored. A free kick snuck in at the bottom corner, his second of this tournament from a set piece, and it made him the first player in history to score in seven consecutive World Cup matches.
Argentina finish the group stage with three wins from three, eight goals scored and just one conceded, and head into the round of 32 to face Cape Verde on July 3 in Miami. Jordan exit the tournament with their pride very much intact — the first team to put a goal past this Argentina side, and a moment their nation will remember for a long time.
An hour on the sideline, and he still found a way to make World Cup history — scoring in a seventh consecutive World Cup match, a feat no one else has managed.
The first team all tournament to score against this Argentina side. A consolation in the scoreline, but a genuine point of pride for a nation at its first World Cup.
Lo Celso and a rotated XI did the heavy lifting for an hour against a state of emergency. The champions don't need their best players on the pitch to win — that's the scariest part for whoever's next.
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇷 Argentina | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | +7 | 9 |
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 🇩🇿 Algeria | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 4 |
| 🇯🇴 Jordan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -5 | 0 |
Argentina win Group J with a perfect record and face Cape Verde in the round of 32 on July 3 in Miami. Austria and Algeria finished level on 4 points each — Austria's 0 goal difference edges Algeria's -2 on tiebreak, sending both through. Jordan finish bottom and are eliminated, but leave as the only side to score against Argentina all tournament.