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ARLINGTON, Texas \u2014 Lionel Messi didn\u2019t have much time to try to become the first to score in seven consecutive World Cup games.
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Argentina\u2019s superstar did it anyway as a second-half substitute.
Messi made it seven straight while extending the all-time men\u2019s World Cup scoring record with his 19th goal in Argentina\u2019s 3-1 victory over Jordan in a group stage finale Saturday night.
In his first match since turning 39 three days earlier, Messi scored on a free kick in the 80th minute after being taken down just outside the penalty area. The low kick barely above the grass surface split two Jordan defenders into the left corner of the net.
It was his 72nd career goal on a free kick, including his 12th for Argentina. Messi now has 123 international goals \u2014 second all-time to Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s 145 \u2014 in 202 appearances.
Messi had been one of only three players to score in six consecutive World Cup games, along with France striker Just Fontaine and Brazil great Jairzinho.
\u201cWhat you\u2019re seeing, I\u2019m seeing the same thing,\u201d coach Lionel Scaloni said through a translator. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit of an uncomfortable situation every single time people ask because I no longer know what to say.\u201d
Messi also scored on a free kick against Nigeria in the 2014 World Cup and is among six players since records are available dating to 1966 who scored two free kick goals in the World Cup. He joined Pel\u00e9, Rivellino, T\u00e9ofilo Cubillas, Bernard Genghini and David Beckham.
\u201cI am very happy for him, for the moment he is having,\u201d Giovani Lo Celso said in translated remarks after becoming the first Argentine other than Messi to score in this tournament, also on a free kick in the 19th minute. \u201cThe truth is that seeing him every day excites, excites and infects a lot. So obviously seeing him like that for us is very important.\u201d
Messi didn\u2019t start because Argentina had already clinched first place in Group J, and the game was further meaningless because Jordan was already eliminated from the knockout stage.
Nevertheless, the decidedly pro-Argentina crowd of 70,649 at the home of the NFL\u2019s Dallas Cowboys was eager to see him.
Fans started chanting Messi\u2019s name as soon as the second half started, and cheered loudly when he came off the bench merely to go through warmups.
The roar was louder when he stepped onto the field in the 60th minute, replacing Lautaro Martinez, who scored on a penalty kick in the first half.
For all the accomplishments of the eight-time winner of the Ballon d\u2019Or as the best player in Europe, Messi has never won the golden boot as the top scorer in each World Cup. This is his sixth.
Messi now has six goals in this tournament, two clear of Kylian Mbapp\u00e9, Vinicius J\u00fanior and Erling Haaland.
Messi had been dealing with a minor hamstring injury with Inter Miami that slowed him in the lead-up to the World Cup.
The knockout round for Argentina begins Friday in South Florida, and in this expanded 48-team tournament that would be the first of five matches in 17 days if La Albiceleste makes it to the final on July 19.
\u201cToday he could have played 90 minutes,\u201d Scaloni said. \u201cHe wanted his teammates to have time on the pitch and to save himself also for what\u2019s coming up now. He doesn\u2019t think so much about the numbers that people are talking about.\u201d
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