Argentina beat Jordan 3-1 with a Messi goal to finish Group J with a perfect record

Argentina beat Jordan 3-1 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the imposing Texan venue for the 2026 World Cup holding 70,649 spectators and famous for its giant hanging videoboard, to close the third round of Group J. The win came at this 48-team World Cup staged by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

La Albiceleste took early control. In the 19th minute, Giovani Lo Celso put Argentina ahead, and in the 31st Lautaro Martínez doubled the lead from the penalty spot to make it 2-0 and steer the game for Lionel Scaloni's side.

Jordan, already out of contention, had their reward in the 55th minute, when Mousa Al-Tamari pulled one back from an Ehsan Haddad pass. The Argentine reply, however, was swift: in the 80th minute, Lionel Messi rounded off the scoring for a final 3-1 and stamped his mark on the game.

Scaloni set Argentina up in a 4-4-2 with Emiliano Martínez in goal, while Jamal Sellami countered with a Jordanian 3-4-2-1 and Yazeed Abu Laila between the posts. Messi, scorer of a goal, was named player of the match. The game produced three bookings, all for Jordan: Mahmoud Abu Taha (17'), Yazan Al-Arab (64') and Nizar Al-Rashdan (90+4').

With this win, Argentina close Group J as leaders with a perfect nine points and confirm themselves as one of the major contenders at the 2026 World Cup. Jordan, by contrast, bow out of the tournament bottom and without a point on their World Cup debut, after three defeats in the group stage.