The hallmark of champions is not simply their brilliance but the quality waiting beyond the spotlight. Argentina started without several of its biggest names, including captain Lionel Messi, against Jordan yet scarcely looked diminished as it completed a flawless Group J campaign with a 3-1 triumph on Sunday.

Lionel Scaloni made nine changes to 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 the Dallas colosseum were reserved not for the players on the pitch but the man sitting in the dugout.

Every time the giant screen showed 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.

On the field, Argentina’s understudies 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, however, arrived in the 19th minute after Mohannad 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.

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 found different routes to goal, and around 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 started warming up.

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

His now-customary World Cup goal — for a seventh successive match — arrived in the 80th minute as he outfoxed Jordanian goalkeeper Yazid Abulaila with a low free-kick that flew past the wall at 103kmph. At last, the full house of 70,649 had what it had been waiting for.