Give him half an hour and he will leave a mark that lasts for ever. Lionel Messi’s arrival from the bench had preoccupied the overwhelming majority of those under this vast roof, to the extent that the play before it felt almost self-consciously like a prelude. There was no risk, no edge, to an encounter between two sides who knew their fates so why not bask in seeing a little more history being made?
Messi knew better than to disappoint. He had been wayward with a free-kick after coming on but, when he won a second 22 yards from goal, the outcome seemed predestined. A whip around the wall, an inordinate amount of bend that meant the ball finished in an almost central position, and the Jordan keeper Yazeed Abulaila could only look on. A sixth goal in three games; a 19th in World Cup football; a first since turning 39. Keep track of the milestones and then get ready for more, because Messi just keeps them coming.
It adorned a match in which Argentina, for whom Giovani Lo Celso scored his own set-piece and Lautaro Martinez a penalty, cruised in anticipation of more serious tasks ahead. The draw has opened up for them, Cape Verde their next opponents in Atlanta, and Lionel Scaloni made nine changes in the knowledge that Fifa’s head-to-head rule had guaranteed them the spoils in Group J.
The flicker of pre-match regret on Jordan’s behalf was that the same regulation, which has unnecessarily numbed a large percentage of the final group stage fixtures, had locked them out before this game began. Would shocking Argentina, even if a heavily hypothetical prospect, really not have outweighed the feats of Austria or Algeria in defeating the minnows? In the event they would, under the old system, still have needed a win of at least three goals to have a realistic hope of progressing. The fact was that any kind of positive result would, regardless of the competitive context, have been a once unthinkable moment for the history books.
They needed no additional motivation to put on a display but if Scaloni’s selection had offered encouragement it dissolved quickly enough. Lo Celso had seen a neat early finish ruled out for offside after good work from Julian Alvarez and the match had been an exercise in Argentinian possession until Abu Taha, booked after what seemed a fair tackle, conceded a free-kick 20 yards out.
Up stepped Lo Celso. While his left-footed corner around the wall was both crisp and accurate it should, like Messi’s later effort, have met greater resistance from Abulaila. The Jordan keeper had stepped too far to his left, but Lo Celso was not going to quibble about his fifth international goal.
How many more could Argentina add? Scaloni had paired Alvarez with Martinez in attack, asking the two to play nicely even though they were effectively playing for the chance to partner Messi against Cape Verde. The gig had been handed to Martinez for their previous two games, although Alvarez’s lack of match fitness after an ankle injury was justification enough.
Just after the half-hour, Martinez was able to further his claim. He had just hit the bar with a mis-hit effort from Nicolas Tagliafico’s centre, the rebound headed bravely towards goal by Marcos Senesi. Seemingly redeeming himself, Abulaila saved at point blank range; Senesi had, though, taken a painful boot in the face from Nizar Al-Rashdan in reaching the ball and a VAR-awarded penalty was inevitable.
So was the clinical nature of Martinez’s spot kick, cracked low to Abulaila’s right. Perhaps Messi, off beam here from the spot against Austria, could take notes from the sidelines. Before the half-time Argentina, for whom the Como schemer Nico Paz was increasingly involved, should have added a third when Exequiel Palacios nodded a free-kick wide. Alvarez was denied by Abulaila from an angle and Jordan had barely been able to cause a ripple at the other end. When they did launch an isolated attack, the left wing-back Mohannad Abu Taha saw a fierce strike blocked.
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Maybe Scaloni could now cut to the chase and allow Messi a late-evening stroll. The crowd certainly made their wish known early in the second half, pausing to celebrate hopefully when Lo Celso had another effort disallowed. Then Jordan’s small, noisy representation could feel hearts in mouths when Ali Olwan, their scorer against Austria, broke away. His cut was inviting but the interval substitute Mousa Al-Tamari, running around the ball, spooned over.
Martinez clipped the bar from range but Jordan’s magical, richly deserved moment came soon after. They smelled a chance when their captain Ehsan Haddad lost Paz with some deft footwork. His ball behind a dozy Palacios was perfect and so was the precise first-time centre by Essan Haddad, which Al-Tamari converted on the stretch.
It was time for Messi, who replaced Martinez. The volume raised accordingly; with the additions of both a little jeopardy and an all-time superstar, this now had the impression of a contest. Messi, master of the final word, ended it soon enough.
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