Lionel Messi came off the bench against Jordan on Sunday and did the thing he’s done maybe 60 times before. He curled a free kick over the wall, past the keeper, into the side netting. It was vintage. It was inevitable. And it sealed Argentina’s 3-1 win in their final World Cup group stage match.
The goal came with about 25 minutes left in the game, just after Jordan had pulled one back and started to believe. Messi killed that belief in about two seconds. The ball bent left, then bent harder. The goalkeeper didn’t move until it was already past him.
Argentina had already done most of the damage by then. Giovani Lo Celso scored in the 12th minute. Lautaro Martinez added another in the 28th. The defending champions held 70 percent possession and outshot Jordan 13 to 5. It wasn’t really a contest for most of the game.
Jordan made it interesting briefly early in the second half. Mousa Tamari became the first player to score against Argentina in this tournament, cutting the lead to 2-1 and giving the underdogs a sliver of hope. But then Messi checked in around the hour mark and the game was effectively over.
For Jordan, this World Cup was always going to be about showing up. They made it for the first time in program history. They finished bottom of Group J with zero points, but they scored in every match. That’s something to build on. Against Algeria, against Austria, against the world champions — they found the net each time.
Argentina sweeps the group
Argentina finished with a perfect nine points. They beat Algeria, then Austria 2-0 with both goals from Messi, then closed out Jordan. Top of Group J, no drama. The knockout stage is next and they’ll face Cape Verde in the Round of 32.
Messi started on the bench against Jordan, which tells you something about the depth this squad has. Lo Celso and Martinez can carry the load for an hour. Then the best player in history comes on and ends any doubt. That’s a pretty good problem to have.
Cape Verde won’t be a pushover. They made it out of their group for the first time ever and have some dangerous attackers. But Argentina looks like a team that knows exactly how to pace itself through a long tournament.
Messi is 38 now. He’s not playing 90 minutes every three days anymore. But when he’s on the field, he’s still the most dangerous player in the world. One free kick at a time, he’s dragging this team deeper into the bracket.
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