Argentina Shines in World Cup Match Against Jordan
ARLINGTON, Texas — Giovani Lo Celso marked a significant moment in this World Cup by becoming the first Argentine to score—aside from Lionel Messi—during the team’s 3-1 victory over Jordan on Saturday night. With this win, the defending champions wrapped up the group stage with three straight victories.
Lo Celso, making his World Cup debut as a starter, netted a direct free kick in the 19th minute to give Argentina an early advantage. Soon after, Messi added to the score just after halftime, bringing his all-time World Cup goal tally to 19, further solidifying his record as the highest scorer in World Cup history.
Interestingly, Messi, who leads the tournament with six goals, was one of nine changes made by Argentina from the previous match since Group J’s outcomes had already been decided. He entered the game in the 60th minute, and then scored in the 80th, celebrating a few days after turning 39 at the same stadium where he had previously set the scoring record.
In previous matches against Algeria and Austria, Messi had scored all five of Argentina’s goals, including his first World Cup hat-trick. He is now on a remarkable streak, scoring in seven consecutive World Cup games—a record he shares with France’s Juste Fontaine and Brazil’s Jairzinho.
During the first half, Lautaro Martínez converted a penalty in the 31st minute; his close-range effort bounced off the crossbar, but he quickly followed up to make it 2-0.
Both Martínez, who started in all three group matches, and goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez were consistent fixtures in the lineup. Argentina finds itself in a strong position, having achieved seven wins and two draws in their last nine World Cup fixtures. They will next face Cape Verde, the smallest nation to reach the knockout stage, in the round of 32 on Friday in Miami, where Messi plays in Major League Soccer.
This victory marks the fifth time Argentina has swept their group stage matches, a first since 2010 and 2014. Overall, they have 14 wins, two losses, and three draws in their last 19 group matches.
Only France and Mexico also achieved perfect records with nine points in the group stage of this expanded 48-team World Cup.
Jordan, ranked 72nd in the world, faced the disappointment of losing all three matches in their inaugural international tournament appearance.
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Moussa Altamari from Jordan scored in the 55th minute after coming on in the second half, marking the team’s only goal of the tournament. Lo Celso and Lautaro Martínez both celebrated their first World Cup goals.
In a prior moment, Lo Celso had a chance that was ruled offside just before he won a free kick after being tripped outside the penalty area. It was notably the first direct free kick goal for Argentina in a World Cup since Messi found the net against Nigeria in 2014.
Following a shot from Martínez that hit the bar, Julian Álvarez’s header deflected into the net off goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaira; however, VAR later determined that the goal would not count due to a foul, resulting in a penalty instead.
Nicolas Paz made his World Cup debut in the opening game, replacing Messi in a previous match, and this time he started. Alongside Paz and Lo Celso, forwards Marcos Senesi and Giuliano Simeone made their first starting appearances in the World Cup. Fascinatingly, they are the oldest sons of former Argentine players who also participated in the World Cup, both born in Europe.
