Argentina defeated Jordan 3-1 in the Group J World Cup final on Saturday at Arlington, Texas, thanks to a free kick from Lionel Messi, a second-half substitution.
Argentina (3-0-0, 9 points) finished with a flawless record in group play, along with France in Group I and co-host Mexico in Group A, with to goals from Giovani Lo Celso and Lautaro Martinez in the first half.
As one of just two returning starters from Argentina’s 2-0 triumph over Austria on Monday, Emiliano Martinez failed to make a save. The team outscored their Group J rivals 8-1.
Jordan (0-3-0, 0 points) was eliminated, and Argentina will play Cape Verde in the round of 32 on Friday at Miami Gardens, Florida. In their first World Cup, Jordan was outscored 8-3.
Lautaro Martinez was replaced by Messi in the 60th minute, and in the 80th minute, Messi scored on a free kick through Jordan’s defense to take a 3-1 lead. With the goal, he extended his World Cup record to 19 goals overall and became the first player to score in seven consecutive World Cup games.
Jordan had one goal from Mousa Al-Tamari and one save from Yazeed Abulaila.
In the 19th minute, Lo Celso’s twisting left-footed free kick from the top of the penalty box gave Argentina a 1-0 lead. After Julian Alvarez was fouled in the 31st minute, Lautaro Martinez scored from the penalty spot to make it 2-0.
After a cross from Ehsan Haddad, Al-Tamari scored for Jordan in the 55th minute to reduce the lead to 2-1. It was Argentina’s first goal of the competition.
In the first minute of second-half stoppage time, Messi, who turned 39 on Wednesday, came dangerously close to scoring again with another free kick from a steep angle to the right of goal.
