FRA 23%
ARG 21.1%
ESP 10.7%
ENG 10.3%
BRA 5.7%
Argentina beat Jordan 1-3 in Group J as Lo Celso, a Lautaro Martinez penalty and a Messi free kick saw off a spirited debutant side who refused to fold.
What happened when Jordan met Argentina?
Argentina beat Jordan 1-3 in Group J, and the scoreline tells only part of the story: this was a game with a genuine pulse, settled by the moments of quality you would expect from the reigning champions but enlivened by a debutant side that never stopped believing. For the neutral, it had everything bar a grandstand finish.
The shape of the contest was set early. Argentina led 0-2 at the break and looked to be cruising, only for Jordan to land a blow shortly after half-time and turn a routine evening into a nervy one. That Argentina needed a moment of Lionel Messi magic to put the result beyond doubt says plenty about the spirit of the 63rd-ranked outsiders.
On the balance of play Argentina deserved their win, but Jordan supplied the texture: the early defiance, the goal that briefly threatened a twist, and the willingness to keep swinging even as the substitutions piled up on both benches.
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How did Argentina take control in the first half?
The opening goal arrived on 19 minutes and from a familiar source of danger: a set piece. Giovani Lo Celso stood over a free kick and curled a left-footed shot into the top-left corner, a clean, precise strike that gave goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila no chance and quietened any early Jordanian optimism.
The decisive passage came around the half-hour. On 28 minutes Lautaro Martinez rattled the bar from very close range after a Nicolas Tagliafico delivery from a corner, and in the same sequence Argentina won a penalty when Nizar Al-Rashdan fouled in the area, Marcos Senesi drawing the contact. A VAR review on 29 minutes confirmed the spot kick, and on 31 minutes Lautaro Martinez tucked it into the bottom-left corner to make it 0-2.
Argentina might have had a third before the interval. In first-half stoppage time Julian Alvarez worked a left-footed shot from the left side of the box, but Yazeed Abulaila got down well to save in the bottom-left corner, a reminder that Jordan's goalkeeper was not simply a bystander on a difficult night.
What was the moment the game turned?
If there was a swing, it came on 55 minutes. Jordan had made a double change at half-time, and one of the men introduced, Mousa Al-Tamari, produced the night's biggest jolt: a left-footed finish from the centre of the box into the top-left corner, teed up by an Ehsan Haddad cross. Suddenly it was 1-2, and a contest many had written off had a live current running through it.
For a spell the neutral could dream of an upset. Jordan had momentum, the noise lifted, and Argentina's two-goal cushion no longer felt like a comfort blanket. The champions' response was to reshuffle, with Thiago Almada, Lionel Messi and Alexis Mac Allister all introduced around the hour to steady the rhythm.
Argentina also had reminders of how close this might have been to a more emphatic margin. Lautaro Martinez struck the woodwork again on 53 minutes with a right-footed effort from outside the box, assisted by Lo Celso, his second time denied by the frame. The bar kept Jordan in it; their own substitute briefly made them believe.
How did Lionel Messi settle it?
The decisive intervention was fitting. Having come on as a 60th-minute substitute, Lionel Messi restored the two-goal margin on 80 minutes, stepping up to a free kick and steering a left-footed effort into the centre of the goal for 1-3. It was the moment that drained the jeopardy from the night and reasserted the gap in class.
It also underlined how Argentina's bench tilts these games. The champions could turn to Messi, Mac Allister and Almada from the sidelines, and it was the most decorated of them who provided the finishing touch once Jordan had dared to make things uncomfortable.
From there the contest settled. Argentina rotated further, bringing on José Manuel López and Valentín Barco, while Jordan emptied their bench in search of another opening that would not come.
Was this result an upset or as expected?
On paper, no. Argentina arrived ranked third in the world with 12% title odds, Jordan as 63rd-ranked debutants priced at 0.1% to lift the trophy. A 1-3 win for the favourites is the result the numbers predicted, and the champions duly collected it.
Yet the texture flattered Jordan more than a three-goal scoreline suggests. The Asian side, riding momentum from a notable Asian Cup run, refused to be passive, picked their goalkeeper out for praise with at least one smart save, and found the net through Al-Tamari to make the closing half-hour interesting rather than ceremonial.
For Argentina there was discipline to manage too: Jordan collected three bookings across the night, to Mohannad Abu Taha on 17 minutes, Yazan Al-Arab on 64 and Mohammed Abu Zraiq deep into stoppage time, evidence of how hard they scrapped. The champions are up and running; the debutants, on this showing, will not be easy outs for anyone in Group J.
Frequently asked
What was the final score of Jordan vs Argentina?
Argentina won 1-3 against Jordan in their Group J fixture on 27 June 2026. It was 0-2 to Argentina at half-time.
Who scored for Argentina against Jordan?
Giovani Lo Celso (19'), Lautaro Martinez from the penalty spot (31') and Lionel Messi (80') scored Argentina's goals.
Did Jordan score against Argentina?
Yes. Substitute Mousa Al-Tamari scored for Jordan on 55 minutes with a left-footed finish from the centre of the box, assisted by an Ehsan Haddad cross.
Did Lionel Messi play against Jordan?
Yes. Messi came on as a substitute on 60 minutes and scored from a free kick on 80 minutes to make it 1-3.
