Lionel Messi scores again to seal perfect group stage for Argentina

ARLINGTON, Texas — Lionel Messi came off the bench in the 60th minute of Argentina’s World Cup group stage finale against Jordan, celebrating his return with a free kick to seal a 3-1 victory Saturday for the reigning champions, who had already wrapped up first place in the group.

The Argentina captain’s strike extended his record as the men’s all-time leader in World Cup goals with 19. Messi, 39, also scored in his seventh consecutive World Cup match to pass France striker Just Fontaine and Brazil great Jairzinho for the tournament mark.

It was his 72nd career goal on a free kick and 12th for Argentina. Messi has 123 international goals — second all time to Cristiano Ronaldo’s 145 — in 202 appearances.

With Messi resting early, Giovani Lo Celso and Lautaro Martínez scored in the first half against Jordan, who had already been eliminated from knockout contention.

“I am very happy for him, for the moment he is having,” Lo Celso said after becoming the first Argentine other than Messi to score in this tournament, also on a free kick in the 19th minute. “The truth is that seeing him every day excites, excites and infects a lot. So obviously, seeing him like that for us is very important.”

The crowd at AT&T Stadium began chanting Messi’s name as soon as the second half started, cheering loudly after he stepped off the bench to warm up. The roar was deafening when he entered the pitch Saturday night, just three days after his 39th birthday.

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni had confirmed that Messi would start on the bench before getting minutes later in the match. When his moment came in the 60th minute, Messi replaced Martinez.

“I spoke with Leo [Messi], and we both agreed that his coming on in the second half was the best thing today. That shows what he means to the group,” Scaloni said.

“He had watched 55 minutes of the match [before coming from the bench] and knew what was going on. There are times when, if something needs changing, I can tell him what we’re going to do for his benefit. But he doesn’t need to be taught anything.

Messi broke the 16-goal World Cup record he shared with Germany’s Miroslav Klose earlier in the tournament with a brace against Austria. Now playing in his sixth World Cup, Messi stands alone, well past Klose, whose final tournament goal came against Messi and Argentina in the 2014 final.

Kylian Mbappé also scored his 16th World Cup goal with a brace in France’s 3-0 win over Iraq a few hours after Messi initially set the record. Mbappé, who sits just behind Messi with four goals in this tournament, did not score in France’s 4-1 win over Norway in their final group match.

“What you’re seeing [about Messi], I’m seeing the same thing,” Scaloni added. “It’s a little bit of an uncomfortable situation every single time people ask because I no longer know what to say.”

Argentina, the Group J winners, will face first-time World Cup qualifiers Cape Verde in the round of 32.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.