World Cup

“I am very happy for him, for the moment he is having."

By STEPHEN HAWKINS, Associated Press

June 28, 2026 | 1:38 AM

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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Giovani Lo Celso became the first Argentina player other than Lionel Messi to score in this World Cup as the defending champions finished the group stage with a three-game sweep after a 3-1 victory over Jordan on Saturday night.

Lo Celso, in his first World Cup start, put Argentina ahead to stay when he scored on a direct free kick in the 19th minute. Messi added one of his own after entering the game in the second half, and the top scorer in World Cup history extended his mark to 19 goals.

“I am very happy for him, for the moment he is having,” Lo Celso said in translated remarks about their captain.

Messi, the leader in this tournament with six goals, was among nine Argentina starters changed from the previous game since Group J was already clinched before the match. He entered in the 60th minute, three days after his 39th birthday and in the same stadium where he broke the scoring mark Monday, and scored in the 80th minute.

He scored all five of Argentina’s goals in wins over Algeria and Austria, including his first World Cup hat trick and then two goals in his record-setting game Monday. He has scored in seven consecutive World Cup games, breaking a tie with France’s Just Fontaine and Brazil great Jairzinho for the longest all-time streak.

Lautaro Martinez put Argentina up 2-0 when he scored on a penalty kick in the 31st minute, in the same sequence when his close-range shot ricocheted off the crossbar.

Martinez, who was subbed out for Messi, and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez were the only players to start all three of Argentina’s group matches.

“I was able to include all the footballers for them to play. This was a goal that we have always set for ourselves,” coach Lionel Scaloni said through an interpreter. “I think they played quite well in a difficult match. They showed today that we can count on them.”

Argentina, which has seven wins and two draws in its last nine World Cup games, plays in the round of 32 on Friday against Cape Verde, the smallest country to earn a spot in the knockout round. That game is in Miami, the home of Messi’s Major League Soccer team.

This is the fifth time Argentina has won all of its matches in group stage, and first since back-to-back tournaments in 2010 and 2014. Argentina has 14 wins, two losses and three draws in its last 19 group games.

France and Mexico were the only other squads in this expanded 48-team World Cup to get the maximum nine points in the group stage.

Jordan, the world’s 72nd-ranked team, was outscored 8-3 in losing all games in its first appearance in the international tournament.

“As a first participant in the World Cup, I believe that the most important thing that we can come out of in terms of lessons is for the players to have experienced firsthand what they were trained on,” coach Jamal Sellami said through an interpreter. “Now they are more aware of the requirements of such competition.”

Mousa Altamari, who entered the game at the start of the second half, scored in the 55th minute for Jordan.

Lo Celso and Martinez both scored their first World Cup goals for Argentina.

“I didn’t have any doubts about them,” Scaloni said through an interpreter. “Lautaro is doing amazing work. We are just so happy with him since he’s been on our squad. If you score a goal, all the better for them and all the better for the squad. We’re very happy with them.”

Only a couple of minutes after Lo Celso was offside when he kicked the ball in the net but not counting for a goal, he got a free kick after being tripped up just outside the penalty box by Mohannad Abutaha, who drew a yellow card.

That was the first direct free kick for an Argentina goal in a World Cup since Messi against Nigeria in 2014.

“I waited a lot for this moment, I dreamed it a lot and I think that what I saw today was much more than what I had imagined or dreamed,” Lo Celso said.

After Martinez shot off the crossbar, Julian Alvarez followed with a header that was deflected by keeper Yazeed Abulaila over the net. But a VAR replay showed that Alvarez took a kick to the face on the play, setting up the penalty.

Nicolás Paz, who made his World Cup debut subbing in for Messi late in the 3-0 win over Algeria in the opener, made his first start in his spot this time. Paz and Lo Celso were joined by forwards Marcos Senesi and Giuliano Simeone making first World Cup starts.