Messi scores in seventh straight World Cup game as Argentina win all three group matches

Lionel Messi became the first player in history to score in seven consecutive World Cup games as Argentina beat Jordan 3-1 in their final Group A fixture, completing a perfect group stage at the 2026 World Cup in North America.

Messi started on the bench, and for the first hour it looked as though Argentina could manage without him. Giovani Lo Celso opened the scoring with a sublime free kick into the top corner, and Lautaro Martinez doubled the lead from the penalty spot after Marcos Senesi was kicked in the head attempting to convert a loose ball, with referee Istvan Kovacs pointing to the spot. Martinez hammered the penalty past goalkeeper Yawed Abulaila to make it 2-0.

Argentina were in complete control and came close to extending their lead further, with Nicolas Otamendi heading just wide and Martinez being denied by Abulaila. The game appeared to be drifting toward a comfortable conclusion.

Jordan briefly threatened to complicate matters when substitute Mousa Altamari pulled one back, beating Emiliano Martinez from close range. It proved a short-lived lifeline. Lionel Scaloni immediately sent on Messi, and within minutes the Argentine captain had whistled a free kick just over the crossbar.

He did not repeat the error. Messi curled his next attempt around the wall and past Abulaila to restore the two-goal cushion and etch his name further into the record books. The goal extended a streak that began against Australia in the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The victory also sealed a historic milestone for the reigning world champions: it is the first time Argentina have won all three group-stage games at a World Cup finals. Scaloni’s side head into the knockout rounds with maximum points and their talisman in ominous form.