During Argentina‘s matchup against Jordan at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas, USA, Lionel Messi did not start the game; instead entering the pitch as a substitute in the 60th minute. The superstar went on to convert a spectacular free-kick goal in the 80th minute to extend the scoreline to 3-0 in the 2026 World Cup.
Argentina completed a perfect group stage, securing nine points behind an on-fire Lionel Messi. With the group play wrapped up, the full field of qualifiers and the official bracket for the Round of 32 are locked in, meaning the reigning champions are officially set to face Cape Verde in the next round.
For Jordan, the tournament ends in heartbreak as they are officially eliminated alongside the rest of the teams leaving the competition, though they certainly fulfilled expectations in their debut appearance. Meanwhile, Argentina look poised to stay the course and defend their title.
LIONEL MESSI SCORES HIS 6TH GOAL OF THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP 🇦🇷
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 28, 2026
Unreal from the 39-year-old legend. pic.twitter.com/C9CykSYene
Argentina’s dominant victory over Jordan
The flawless group stage was capped off with a comfortable 3–1 victory over Jordan in Dallas, where all three goals originated from set pieces. Giovani Lo Celso opened the scoring with a curling free kick before Lautaro Martínez converted from the penalty spot. Substitute Lionel Messi later sealed the win for Argentina with a historic 80th-minute strike.
Mousa Tamari’s second-half goal provided Jordan with a memorable highlight from their debut World Cup campaign, but the reigning champions were never seriously troubled on the pitch.
The historic record secured by Messi
This marks the seventh consecutive World Cup match in which Messi has scored a goal, establishing a brand-new tournament record. Earlier in this summer’s tournament, Messi passed Miroslav Klose to become the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history. He now sits at 19 total goals, and the knockout rounds have not even begun yet.
Messi continues to pull away from Mbappe
Messi originally broke the 16-goal World Cup record he previously shared with Germany’s Miroslav Klose earlier in the tournament, courtesy of a brace against Austria. Now playing in his historic sixth World Cup, Messi stands alone well ahead of Klose, whose final tournament goal came against Messi and Argentina in the 2014 final.
Kylian Mbappe briefly matched Klose’s mark of 16 goals with a brace in France’s 3-0 win over Iraq just a few hours after Messi initially established the new record. Mbappe, who sits just behind Messi with four goals in this tournament, did not find the back of the net in France’s 4-1 victory over Norway in their final group match.
