Lionel Messi became the first player to score in seven consecutive FIFA World Cup games. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

The hallmark of champions is not simply their brilliance, but the quality waiting just beyond the spotlight. Argentina rested several of its biggest names, including captain Lionel Messi, against Jordan, yet scarcely looked diminished as it completed a flawless FIFA World Cup 2026 Group J campaign with a 3-1 triumph.

Lionel Scaloni made nine changes from the side that beat Austria, with only goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and striker Lautaro Martinez retaining their spots. For much of the opening half, the loudest cheers inside this Dallas colosseum were reserved not for the players on the pitch, but the man sitting in the dugout.

Every time the giant screen found Messi, seated alongside clubmate Rodrigo De Paul with an amused expression, the stadium erupted, before returning to its familiar chorus.

“ Muchachos, ahora nos volvimos a ilusionar, quiero ganar la cuarta, quiero ser campeón mundial (Guys, now we can dream again, I want to win the fourth one, I want to be world champion),” sang the Argentine faithful, a soundtrack that has followed this generation from Qatar to here.

On the field, Argentina’s understudies soon gave them more to cheer for. The South Americans monopolised possession but initially found Jordan’s compact defensive block difficult to break down.

The breakthrough arrived in the 18th minute after Mohamad Abutaha brought Giovani Lo Celso down just outside the penalty box. The Real Betis midfielder punished the untidy Jordanians by curling his free kick around a poorly organised wall.

AS IT HAPPENED | JORDAN VS ARGENTINA HIGHLIGHTS

Argentina’s pressure soon brought another reward. Lautaro’s angled effort struck the post before Marcos Senesi, following up on the rebound, was caught in the face by Nizar Al-Rashdan’s raised boot. After a VAR review, the referee pointed to the spot, and Lautaro calmly sent his penalty into the bottom-left corner.

In Messi’s absence, Argentina had found different routes to goal, and by the half-hour mark, the contest was already drifting away from Jordan.

But the Asian side, playing in its first World Cup, refused to become a supporting act. Mousa Al-Tamari’s sliding finish in the 55th minute cut short the deficit, just as Messi had started warming up.

The moment the No. 10 stepped towards the halfway line, the stadium found another gear. The roar that greeted his arrival dwarfed every celebration that had come earlier.

His now-customary World Cup goal – in a seventh successive match – arrived too in the 80th minute, as he outfoxed Jordanian goalkeeper Yazid Abu Laila with a low freekick that flew past the wall at 103kmph.

At last, the full house of 70,649 had what it had been waiting for. From whichever corner of the world they had come, they now had the memory of one more Messi goal, one more roar, and one more night to savour.

Published on Jun 28, 2026