Lionel Messi scripts another World Cup masterpiece with record-breaking free-kick as Argentina outclass Jordan 3-1
Some footballers score goals. Lionel Messi continues to write history. On an evening when Argentina hardly needed their captain, the 39-year-old once again reminded the football world why every touch of the ball still commands anticipation. Introduced in the second half, Messi curled another chapter into his extraordinary World Cup story, scoring a breathtaking free-kick as Argentina defeated Jordan 3-1 in their final Group J match of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
With Giovani Lo Celso and Lautaro Martinez already putting Argentina 2-1 ahead, Messi stepped onto the pitch in the 60th minute, greeted by familiar expectations. Twenty minutes later, he delivered exactly what the occasion seemed to promise.
In the 80th minute, the Argentine maestro struck a low free-kick that slipped beyond Jordan goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila before he could even react. The ball kissed the back of the net and another record quietly found its rightful owner.
The goal was Messi’s sixth of the tournament, extending his all-time FIFA World Cup tally to 19. More significantly, it made him the first player in history to score in seven consecutive World Cup matches, moving ahead of France’s Just Fontaine and Brazil legend Jairzinho.
Just three days after celebrating his 39th birthday, Messi returned to the very stadium where he had broken the tournament’s all-time scoring record earlier in the week. If the previous performance cemented his legacy, this one simply reminded the world that his story is still unfolding.
His World Cup campaign has been nothing short of extraordinary. After netting all five of Argentina’s goals in victories over Algeria and Austria—including his first World Cup hat-trick and a brace in the previous match—Messi remains the tournament’s leading scorer with six goals.
Argentina, meanwhile, marched through Group J without dropping a point. The victory marked the fifth time they have won every group-stage match at a World Cup and the first since achieving the feat in successive editions in 2010 and 2014.
The South American giants are now unbeaten in their last nine World Cup matches, registering seven victories and two draws. Their recent group-stage record also stands at 14 wins, three draws and just two defeats from their last 19 matches.
Next up is a Round of 32 clash against Cape Verde on Friday in Miami—the home city of Messi’s Major League Soccer club. Cape Verde, meanwhile, have become the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup.
Argentina also joined France and Mexico as the only teams to finish the group stage with a perfect nine points in the expanded 48-team tournament.
For most players, records define careers. For Lionel Messi, they seem to arrive almost as naturally as the goals themselves.