A night of records: Messi and Argentina rewrite history in Jordan rout

Argentina swept into the Round of 32 with a commanding victory over Jordan in their final 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage match — a night that belonged not just to the scoreboard, but to the record books.

Lionel Messi was at the centre of it all, scripting history with every touch.

Messi's record haul

The Argentine captain scored to become the first player in football history to net in seven consecutive World Cup matches. His tally for the tournament now stands at 19 World Cup goals in total, extending his status as the competition's all-time leading scorer. His six group stage goals in this edition make him only the fifth player ever to achieve the feat in a single tournament's group phase — and the first to do so since Russia's Oleg Salenko in 1994.

Messi also etched his name into free-kick folklore. His direct free-kick strike made him the sixth player in 60 years to score two direct free-kicks at a World Cup. He now has six goals from outside the penalty box in World Cup history — surpassing Brazil's Rivellino to hold the record for the most such goals in six decades.

Team records

Argentina made history as a collective too, becoming only the fourth team in 60 years to score multiple direct free-kick goals in a single World Cup match — joining Brazil (1966), Yugoslavia (1974), and Japan (2010).

The Albiceleste also recorded a perfect group stage for the fifth time in World Cup history, winning all three matches, having previously done so in 1930, 1998, 2010, and 2014. They are now unbeaten in nine consecutive World Cup matches stretching back to their triumph in 2022.

Individual contributions

Lautaro Martinez finally ended a long personal drought, breaking his World Cup duck in his ninth appearance and on his 17th attempt, taking his overall Argentina goal tally to 38 — placing him fourth on the country's all-time scoring list.

In midfield, Leandro Paredes was a metronome of rare authority, completing 154 successful passes — the most by any Argentine in a single World Cup match in 60 years and the sixth highest by any player in the competition's history.

Records, rhythm, and ruthlessness — Argentina had it all on a night that sets the stage for what their supporters now dare to dream: that the trophy, at last, will follow.