Messi leads Argentina to victory over Jordan in Dallas

 Argentina prepared for the World Cup knockout stage by beating Jordan 3-1 in Dallas. The world champions entered the match with advancement assured, and their next opponent will be Cape Verde in Miami on July 3. Lionel Scaloni made nine changes to Argentina's starting line-up, including leaving Lionel Messi on the bench. Giovani Lo Celso scored the first goal for Argentina in the 19th minute, taking advantage of uncertain interventions by goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila. Lautaro Martínez increased the lead from the penalty spot just after half an hour. Jordan tried to respond and reduced the deficit to 2-1 after a goal by Mousa Tamari, who came on during the break. Messi joined the game shortly later, scoring from a free kick 10 minutes from time, becoming the first player in World Cup history to score in seven consecutive games. It was his sixth goal in the tournament and 19th in World Cup history. Scaloni had previously warned fans that Messi would be spared in this final group match, although he promised he would feature in the second half. For many fans gathered in Dallas, the match was a kind of guessing game as to when Messi would take the field. He was introduced after an hour of play, and two minutes later he had a chance to score, but he failed to control the ball. Two minutes later he took a nice free kick, but it didn't go into the goal. After the introduction, Messi often found himself in an offside position but perked up when the Jordan defense fell back. Ten minutes before the end of the match, Messi scored from a free kick, noticing that the Jordan goalkeeper was again making the same mistake as Lo Celso's goal. For fans in Dallas, this game was a special event. Although Jordan no longer had a chance to advance, they managed to score a goal in each of their group matches. For Argentina, whose fans constituted the vast majority in the stands, it was more of a farewell to the group stage than a typical World Cup match. Dallas has become their second home, where they have already played two games. The next match in Miami with the Cape Verde Islands seems to be less demanding than the potential clash with Uruguay. After that, Australia or Egypt may be waiting for them, where neither team should pose a big challenge to the world champions. In the quarterfinals they can face Colombia or Switzerland, which should also not cause them any problems on the way to the semifinals.