Argentina player ratings vs Jordan: Lionel Messi makes World Cup history (again) as Giovani Lo Celso and Lautaro Martínez ease scoring burden

If this is Lionel Messi’s final World Cup, he seems determined to leave with every attacking record he can. The Argentina icon became the first player in tournament history to score in seven straight games, icing a closer-than-expected 3-1 win over a determined Jordan side. Manager Lionel Scaloni also found more attacking answers, with Giovani Lo Celso and Lautaro Martínez joining in the scoring.

Despite the 72-place gap in the FIFA rankings, this was much closer than Argentina would have wanted - especially after halftime.

Lionel Messi had scored all five of Argentina's goals entering the group-stage finale against Jordan, but with the icon starting on the bench, his teammates showed they could help carry the attacking load.

Argentina started brightly, and Giovani Lo Celso nearly had his opener in the seventh minute after finishing off a slick passing move, only for the Betis midfielder to be ruled narrowly offside. He would not be denied for long. With Argentina holding nearly 90 percent of possession in the opening 14 minutes, Lo Celso stepped over a free kick and appeared to channel his eight-time Ballon d'Or-winning teammate, blasting a rocket past Yazeed Abulaila.

Some will argue the Jordan goalkeeper should have done better, but there was no denying the quality of Lo Celso's strike - or the importance of someone other than Messi setting the tone. Argentina's first-half dominance continued from there, as they turned their sizable possession advantage into a steady stream of set-piece opportunities. On one of their two corners, Scaloni's men earned another chance when Marcos Senesi drew a penalty while trying to attack a header. Lautaro Martínez calmly converted in the 31st minute to give Argentina a 2-0 lead.

Still, Argentina never fully turned that early control into a comfortable night, and Jordan grew into the game after halftime enough to make Scaloni's side work far harder than expected. Jordan manager Jamal Sellami brought on Mousa Tamari and Mahmoud Al Mardi, and the former made an almost immediate impact. With Argentina seemingly asleep defensively, Jordan hit on the counter, and Tamari finished to cut the deficit to 2-1.

After a nervy 10 minutes from La Albiceleste, Scaloni turned to his safety valve, bringing on Messi in the 60th minute. And, as he typically does, the legend delivered.

After a relatively quiet 20 minutes, Messi was given a free kick and fired a low, skidding effort past Abulaila to restore Argentina's cushion. With the goal, he became the first player in World Cup history to score in seven straight games. Argentina also became the first side since the 2010 Japan side to score on two free kicks in a game. It was enough to seal a perfect group stage for Scaloni's side, who now await Cape Verde in what should be an electric atmosphere in Miami.

GOAL rates Argentina's players from Dallas.

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Goalkeeper & Defence
Emiliano Martinez (6/10):
Could have pulled up a lawn chair on the Dallas Stadium pitch, that's how little he had to do in the first half. In the second half, whether it was complacency or not, he was just beaten by Tamari.
Exequiel Palacios (8/10):
Made the most of a rare start and had an impressive seven defensive contributions in the opening 45 minutes. Interestingly enough, most of those came in Jordan's side of the pitch as his efforts in pressing help spark Argentina's counters. The right back spot has been a weak link for Argentina so far, and while it was against Jordan, Palacios gave Scaloni something to think about.
Nicolas Otamendi (6/10):
Similar to Palacios, Jordan's inability to get into Argentina's side of the pitch meant almost all of Otamendi's defensive efforts came in the attacking end. Was strong in passing and in the air in the first half, but fell asleep in Jordan's goal and was punished.
Marcos Senesi (7/10):
Earned the penalty that gave Martinez his goal and essentially served as an additional midfielder for Argentina. Connected on x percent of his passes.
Nicolás Tagliafico (6/10):
In a match where there was a heavy emphasis on attack, Tagliafico didn't offer much and didn't do anything to stop Jordan from scoring.

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Midfield
Leandro Paredes (6/10):
Essentially played the Rodrigo De Paul role. Had a ton of touches and was incredibly accurate with his passes. Picked up his impact in the second half.
Nico Paz (7/10):
There's a lot of transfer intrigue around the Como star, and he showed flashes of it against Jordan. Lined up as a No. 10, Paz did most of his damage on the left side of the pitch, beating defenders on the dribble and threading a few successful killer passes.
Giovani Lo Celso (8/10):
WHAT. A. FREE. KICK. Lo Celso came into the match hungry as he finished an incredible passing sequence and scored in the seventh minute before seeing it called off. He more than made up for that less than 14 minutes later, connecting on an incredible set piece to give Argentina their first goal.
Giuliano Simeone (6/10):
Offered some width and pace, but wasn't really impactful.
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Attack
Julian Alvarez (5/10):
Alvarez still appears to be impacted by the injury that he suffered at the end of his club season. His touch was off the entire night, and he was woeful in connecting on passes and link-up plays. He did make up for it, slightly, by helping Argentina press all over the pitch.
Lautaro Martínez (8/10):
Finally! In his ninth World Cup appearance, the Inter star blasted home a penalty, and that appeared to spark the 28-year-old. He'll regret the opening three minutes where he passed Lo Celso into an offside position on a clear scoring chance, but overall, he was effective in getting to the box and punishing Jordan's defence. Deserved more than one goal and was surprisingly pulled instead of Alvarez for Messi.

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Subs & Manager
Lionel Messi (9/10):
Was almost too quiet in his first World Cup substitute appearance since 2006, but his one moment of magic changed everything. Then he was Messi again, which was Jordan's worst nightmare.
Alexis Mac Allister (7/10):
Did the dirty work needed in his 30 minutes of action and was accurate with his passing.
Thiago Almada (6/10):
Showed work rate and pace, but didn't make much of an impact.
Valentin Barco (6/10):
Highly-touted youngster made his competitive debut for Argentina in the World Cup. Big moment for the 21-year-old, who otherwise was relatively quiet on the pitch.
Jose Lopez (N/A):
Didn't have enough time to make an impact.
Lionel Scaloni (7/10):
Will be furious to concede to Jordan, especially in the manner Argentina conceded. Yet, overall, he did find some answers in attack and potentially defence as well.

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Goalkeeper & Defence

Midfield

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