The Argentine team started the match with clear possession of the ball, and threatened Jordan’s goal early, before Giovani Lo Celso scored a goal in the seventh minute that the referee ruled out for offside.
The Argentine advantage continued, as the percentage of possession in the 15th minute reached about 82%, compared to 14% for Jordan. In the 17th minute, Muhannad Abu Taha received a yellow card after a foul on the edge of the penalty area. Argentina took the free kick and Giovani Lo Celso scored the first goal in the 19th minute, with a left-footed shot to the top left corner.
The Argentine national team almost added the second goal in the 27th minute, after the crossbar blocked a dangerous ball, before it rebounded to Marcos Senesi, who shot with his head, but goalkeeper Yazid Abu Laila made a brilliant save. After reviewing the video technology, the referee awarded a penalty kick for Argentina following a violation by Nizar Al-Rashdan on Senesi, from which Lautaro Martinez scored the second goal in the 31st minute.
After the second goal, the Jordanian team began to enter the atmosphere of the match, with Ali Alwan leading the first serious Jordanian attack in the 33rd minute, then Jordan continued to put pressure through crosses from the left side and a strong attempt from Aouda Al-Fakhouri in the 35th minute, but the Argentine defense blocked it.
Before the end of the first half, the Argentine team returned to pressure, and Julian Alvarez almost scored the third goal in the 45+4 minute, but Abu Laila shone again, ending the first half with Argentina leading 2-0.
At the beginning of the second half, the Jordanian national team made two substitutions, with Musa Al-Taamari and Mahmoud Al-Mardi replacing Ali Azaizeh and Odeh Al-Fakhouri. Jordan appeared better, as Muhannad Abu Taha saved a dangerous Argentine chance in the 51st minute, before the ball rebounded in a Jordanian attack that ended with a high shot from Al-Taamari.
In the 53rd minute, Argentina responded with a powerful shot from Lautaro Martinez that hit the crossbar, before Jordan succeeded in reducing the difference in the 55th minute through Musa Al-Taamari, who scored with a wonderful left-footed shot from the middle of the penalty area to the top left corner, after a ground cross from Ihsan Haddad.
After the Jordanian goal, the Argentine national team brought on Lionel Messi and Thiago Almada in the 60th minute, then Alexis McAllister in the 61st minute. Messi enjoyed a great crowd reaction with every touch of the ball, before he shot a direct free kick in the 65th minute over Yazid Abu Laila’s goal.
Jordan’s performance improved in the second half, and its confidence increased after Al-Taamari’s goal, but Argentina regained the lead in the 80th minute, when Messi scored the third goal from a direct free kick with a perfect left shot into the middle of the goal.
With this goal, Messi strengthened his top scorer list for the 2026 World Cup with 6 goals. He also reached goal No. 19 in the World Cup, strengthening his historic top scorers, and becoming the first player to score in 7 consecutive matches in the history of the World Cup.
In the final minutes, Jordan made two substitutions with the entry of Muhammad Abu Zureiq and Salim Obaid, before Abu Zureiq received a yellow card in stoppage time. Messi almost scored a new goal in the 91st minute with a dangerous low cross from a direct free kick, but the ball went out of the goal.
The match ended with Argentina’s victory over Jordan with a score of 3-1, after a confrontation in which the Jordanian team presented a better second half, while the experience of Argentina and Messi decided the result.
