Lionel Messi sets incredible new World Cup record as he moves clear in Golden Boot race

GREEDY attention-seeker Lionel Messi broke yet another World Cup record. The man who had already played more games and scored more goals in the finals than anyone, can now boast the best streak in tournament history. By finding the net in his seventh consecutive game, stretching back to the last 16 of Qatar 2022, Messi moved clear of France legend Just Fontaine and Brazil 1970 hero Jairzinho. The Argentina captain was kept on the bench until the final half hour. At that point the game was sort of in the balance, after Jordan half-time sub Mousa Al Tamari had scored to make it 2-1. But when Argentina were awarded a free kick 25 yards out with 10 minutes to go, only one man was going to take it. READ MORE ON THE WORLD CUP And for the second time in the match, Jordan goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila’s poor positioning cost his team dear at a set-piece. Abulaila had been similarly helpless when Giovani Lo Celso curled home a free kick in the first half. And he was beaten again just after the half hour by a Lautaro Martinez penalty. Jordan at least kept up their record of scoring in every game of their World Cup debut. Most read in Sport WORLD CUP 2026 FREE BETS AND SIGN UP OFFERS And some of their players can say they shared the pitch with Messi. So pretty much everyone went home happy. Except Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez, who remains four short of Sergio Romero’s clean sheet record for Argentina after slightly slopping defending allowed Al Tamari to score. Martinez was one of only two players to keep their starting places from the victory over Austria, along with namesake Lautaro. There were suggestions Jordan boss Jamal Sellami would also make extensive changes, as much to give some of his second string a precious taste of World Cup finals football as anything. But Sellami’s only alterations were up front, where Ali Azaizeh and Odeh Fakhoury came in to the team. Lo Celso had the ball in the net as early as the seventh minute but was offside. After an otherwise tame opening, his goal was worth the wait. Mohannad Abu Taha was booked for a foul on the former Spurs man on the edge of the box and further punishment soon arrived. Argentina’s decoy wall split and Lo Celso curled the ball into the top corner of Yazeed Abulaila’s net, with the Jordan goalkeeper having taken fateful steps to his left which left him with no chance of getting near it. The second goal felt hard on Jordan. After Martinez hit the crossbar, Marcos Senesi stooped to head goalwards, only for Abulaila to make a brilliant save. But Nizar Al Rashdan, in stretching out a leg to reach the ball, had caught Senesi on the head. Although Al Rashdan was perfectly entitled to make the challenge and his foot was not especially high, VAR called referee Istvan Kovacs to the monitor. The verdict was penalty and Lautaro M scored. Stand-in captain Nicolas Otamendi could have made it three in first-half stoppage time but sent a free header wide. And Julian Alvarez forced a near-post save from Abulaila just before the break. Jordan, who had made little attacking impact, took off Azaizeh and Fakhoury at the break. The sight of Messi coming out for a first warm-up roused the crowd. World Cup 2026 - all the info LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED! This year’s World Cup is like no other as a record-breaking 48 nations compete to lift football’s biggest prize. England manager Thomas Tuchel is hoping to finally bring football home after a 60-year drought. But footballing legends Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have other plans in what will likely be their final World Cup appearance. SunSport have got everything you need for the huge tournament LATEST NEWS - England team news vs Panama ‘leaked’ as Tuchel makes popular change - Scotland World Cup hopes STILL alive – but they need these results - Mehdi Taremi in blistering attack on Fifa and reveals Infantino encounter - Cape Verde will face Argentina in World Cup knockouts - Manuel Ugarte stretchered off as Uruguay go OUT of tournament KEY INFO - World Cup 2026 full match schedule including kick-off times - World Cup 2026 full squads - World Cup 2026 rule changes - World Cup 2026 prize money VIDEO - Proper Football Daily: Get all the expert analysis each morning - Team Talk – Tactics Exposed: Dive into the tactical talking points TIPS AND BETTING If you click a link in this article, we will earn affiliate revenue. Al Tamari soon had a chance at least to hit the target for Jordan but could only lift his shot well off target. At the other end, Martinez clipped the crossbar with his own effort from distance. But then came Jordan’s moment. The ball was worked to right full back Ehsan Haddad and his cross was excellent. Rennes striker Al Talmari stole in beyond Exequiel Paredes and Emi Martinez could not keep out the shot. Scaloni soon made a triple change and Messi was among those introduced for the final half an hour. The Argentina captain’s first effort to break the goalscoring streak record was a free kick from way out that missed the target. Overall, Messi’s arrival was making little difference. If anything, the game threatened to peter out completely. But after earning the free kick, Messi made it count. Once again, Abulaila’s wall and his own starting position were flawed. There was curl on Messi’s shot, sure, but it ended up pretty central in the net, with the Jordan keeper motionless. And so the Argentina captain’s incredible start to his sixth World Cup – another jointly-held record – continued. You have to fancy him to make it eight on the spin against Cape Verde in the last 32 next week.