Messi Breaks Another Record as Argentina Beat Jordan 3-1 to Win Group J With Perfect Record

Lionel Messi came off the bench to score his sixth goal of the tournament as Argentina beat Jordan 3-1 in Dallas on Sunday, topping Group J with a 100 percent record across their three games.

 The free-kick was Messi's 19th World Cup goal and made him the first player ever to score in seven consecutive World Cup games. Argentina will face Cape Verde in Miami on July 3 in the round of 32.

Messi was named on the bench with qualification already secured, but his introduction in the 60th minute drew the loudest cheer of the night. With 10 minutes remaining, he curled a low free-kick around the wall and into the net to put the game beyond doubt, extending his lead at the top of the golden boot standings to two goals clear of his nearest rivals.

Argentina had already been in control long before Messi's arrival. Giovani Lo Celso opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a superb free-kick whipped into the top corner, and Lautaro Martinez doubled the lead with an emphatic penalty thumped into the bottom corner after a VAR review found that Marcos Senesi had been accidentally kicked in the head as he dived to head the ball.

Jordan refused to give up and pulled one back 10 minutes into the second half with a brilliantly worked team goal. Substitute Mousa Al Tamari started the move and was on hand to convert Ehsan Haddad's precise ball across the face of goal, briefly raising hope of a comeback before Messi settled matters.

The stadium buzzed every time Messi touched the ball in the final third after his introduction, and he gave the Dallas crowd the moment they had been waiting for with yet another record-breaking finish.

Jordan finish bottom of Group J and are eliminated. Argentina head into the knockout rounds having won all three group games and with Messi in the kind of form that will worry every remaining team in the tournament.