Argentina, the defending World Cup champions, completed a group stage sweep with a 3-1 victory over Jordan. Giovani Lo Celso, making his first World Cup start, opened the scoring for Argentina in the 19th minute with a direct free kick. Lautaro Martinez then extended Argentina's lead to 2-0 with a penalty kick in the 31st minute after a VAR review. While Jordan's Mousa Altamari scored in the 55th minute to cut the lead to 2-1, Lionel Messi, who entered the game as a second-half substitute in the 60th minute, sealed the win with a free-kick goal in the 80th minute.
Messi's goal marked his 19th World Cup goal, extending his record as the top scorer in World Cup history. This also made him the first player to score in seven consecutive World Cup matches, surpassing Just Fontaine and Jairzinho. Messi, who turned 39 three days prior, did not start the match as Argentina had already clinched first place in Group J, and Jordan was already eliminated. Coach Lionel Scaloni had changed nine of the starting players from the previous game to allow others playing time and to rest Messi, who had been dealing with a minor hamstring injury.
Argentina will now face Cape Verde, the smallest country to reach the knockout round, in the Round of 32 on Friday in Miami. Cape Verde advanced despite not winning a single group stage match, securing three draws. Argentina has won all three of its group matches, scoring five goals in total from Messi before his latest goal against Jordan, and remains undefeated in its last nine World Cup games with seven wins and two draws. France and Mexico were the only other teams in the expanded 48-team World Cup to achieve a perfect nine points in the group stage.
