Messi Breaks Record as Argentina Cruise Past Jordan
Lionel Messi came off the bench and curled in a free-kick to become the first player ever to score in seven consecutive World Cup matches.
- Argentina beat Jordan 3-1 in the final round of Group J.
- Messi became the first player ever to score in seven consecutive World Cup matches.
- Argentina's scorers: Lo Celso (19), Lautaro Martinez from the penalty spot (31) and Messi (80).
- The reigning world champions finished top of the group and advanced to the knockout stage.
The bench. That is where he started, arms folded, while Lionel Scaloni rotated a side that had already secured top spot. Nobody blinked when he peeled off his tracksuit in the second half. Then, ten minutes from time, he stood over a free-kick, approached it the way he has for two decades, and drove it low past the post. Goal number seven in seven straight World Cup matches. A record no one before him had ever held.
Argentina faced Jordan with nothing riding on the result. Qualification was sealed, first place in the group too, so Scaloni made nine changes and let his reserves prove a point. What was meant to be a relaxed formality turned into another chapter in Messi’s personal history.
The world champions controlled the tempo from the first whistle. Giovani Lo Celso struck from distance in the 19th minute to open the scoring, and just twelve minutes later Lautaro Martinez converted from the penalty spot after Julian Alvarez was brought down. By half-time the match looked done.
Jordan, however, refused to drop their heads. Mousa Al Tamari pulled one back in the 55th minute and briefly revived the contest. That was when Scaloni reached for his ace on the bench.
The numbers that say it all
The figures around Messi at this tournament are starting to look unreal. Three appearances, six goals, and now a record that sets him apart from anyone who has ever played at a World Cup. His strike against Jordan was his 19th at World Cups, another tally no one else comes close to matching.
What impresses is not just the volume but the consistency. Scoring in seven consecutive matches means Messi is finding the net at every turn of this tournament, whether he starts or comes off the bench. Argentina finished the group with a perfect record, without a single slip, and enter the knockout stage as a side nobody wants to draw.
Lautaro Martinez added that the squad has the depth to rotate and keep winning, which for the defending champions may matter more than any individual record. A short bench is not a problem here, quite the opposite.
Can anyone stop this Argentina?
The question ahead of the knockout stage is not whether Argentina are favourites, but who actually has the weapons to knock them out. The reigning champions are playing calmly, with the confidence of a team that knows exactly what it carries, and Messi is in a form that defies both age and logic.
Scaloni got exactly what he wanted: a rested first team, minutes for his reserves and another record for his captain. In the knockout rounds mistakes are not forgiven, but right now Argentina look like a side that simply does not make them.
The next test comes in the round of 16, where the real drama of the World Cup begins. So, do you believe there is a team out there that can end Messi’s streak and topple the defending champions?
