The mark of champions is not only their brilliance, but also the quality that waits just outside the spotlight. Argentina rested some of its biggest names, including captain Lionel Messi, against Jordan but looked hardly diminished as they capped a flawless 2026 FIFA World Cup Group J campaign with a 3-1 win.
Lionel Scaloni made nine changes to the side that defeated Austria, with only goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and striker Lautaro Martinez retaining their places. For much of the first half, the loudest cheering in this Dallas coliseum belonged not to the players on the field, but to the man sitting in the dugout.
Every time Messi sat next to clubmate Rodrigo De Paul on the giant screen with an amused expression, the stadium erupted before returning to the familiar chorus.
“ Guys, now we are excited again, I want to win the fourth, I want to become world champion (Guys, now we can dream again, I want to win the fourth, I want to become world champion),” sang the Argentine believer, a soundtrack that has followed this generation from Qatar to here.
On the field, the Argentine students quickly gave them more to cheer for. The South Americans monopolized possession of the ball, but initially found Jordan’s compact defensive block difficult to break through.
The breakthrough came in the 18th minute after Mohamad Abutaha brought down Giovani Lo Celso just outside the penalty area. The Real Betis midfielder punished the sloppy Jordanians by curling his free-kick around a poorly organized wall.
AS IT HAPPENED | JORDAN VS ARGENTINA HIGHLIGHTS
Argentina’s pressure soon brought a new reward. An angled effort from Lautaro hit the post before Marcos Senesi, after the rebound, was caught in the face by Nizar Al-Rashdan’s raised boot. After a VAR review, the referee pointed to the spot and Lautaro calmly sent his penalty into the bottom left corner.
In Messi’s absence, Argentina had found several routes to goal, and by the half-hour mark the match was already drifting away from Jordan.
But the Asian side, who played in the first World Cup, refused to become a support act. Mousa Al-Tamari’s sliding finish in the 55th minute erased the deficit just as Messi was warming up.
The moment number 10 stepped towards the halfway line, the stadium found another gear. The roar that greeted his arrival dwarfed any celebration that had come before.
His now customary World Cup goal – in a seventh successive match – also came in the 80th minute, when he outwitted Jordanian goalkeeper Yazid Abu Laila with a low free-kick that flew past the wall at 63mph.
Finally the packed house of 70,649 had what it had been waiting for. Whatever corner of the world they came from, they now had the memory of another Messi goal, another roar and another night to enjoy.
Published on June 28, 2026
