It did not last. Messi was on the pitch within minutes of the equalizer attempt, and by the 80th the game was back under control. Jordan close the group at 0 wins, 0 draws, 3 losses — 8 goals conceded, 3 scored. Their first-ever World Cup ends in the group stage, but Al-Taamari gave them a moment worth remembering and gave Scaloni a small headache he will not lose sleep over.
With the group already locked up, Scaloni did what any smart coach does: rotated heavily, kept Messi on the bench, and let the squad depth handle it. Lo Celso's free kick in the 19th and Lautaro's penalty in the 31st — converted calmly after the box pinball that put Senesi on the deck — had Argentina up 2 by the break. The backup XI moved the ball well, kept possession north of 70 percent, and only a lapse in the 55th let Jordan briefly back into it.
Messi entered around the 60th minute. By the 80th he had won a free kick and put it low past the keeper, becoming the first player in history to score in 7 consecutive World Cup matches. Argentina close the group stage at 3 wins, 0 losses, 1 goal conceded in 3 games. They meet Cape Verde in the Round of 32 on July 3 in Miami.
Moneyline: hit. Spread: miss. Total: hit. The ml was never really in doubt — Argentina were the heavy favorite and a rotated XI still handled it. On the spread, we took Argentina -2.5 and they won by exactly 2, letting Jordan cover. Scaloni did precisely what our bear case warned: he managed legs, not the scoreline. We called it as a risk and it cost us on the handicap. The over 3.5 total did cash — 4 goals on the night, with Jordan forced to open up after going 2 down and Messi adding the exclamation point in the 80th.
The market saw Jordan covering the spread as the slight favorite on that line, and the market was right. On the moneyline, an 87% Argentina win probability was priced in and the result landed exactly where it should. Argentina advance to the Round of 32 with a group stage that looked about as convincing as group stages get — 9 points, 1 goal conceded. Jordan go home having experienced their first World Cup; the scorelines were rough but they were not embarrassed.
Argentina1-3
Algeria1-2
Austria1-3
Egypt3-2
Cape Verde3-2Jordan3-1Austria2-0Algeria3-0