Jordan's historic World Cup journey ends with loss to Argentina

Jordan's forward  Mousa Tamari celebrates with teammate forward Mahmoud Mardi scoring his team's first goal during the 2026 World Cup Group J football match between Jordan and Argentina at the Dallas Stadium in Arlington on June 28, 2026 (AFP photo)
Jordan's forward Mousa Tamari celebrates with teammate forward Mahmoud Mardi scoring his team's first goal during the 2026 World Cup Group J football match between Jordan and Argentina at the Dallas Stadium in Arlington on June 28, 2026 (AFP photo)

AMMAN — Jordan concluded their historic maiden FIFA World Cup campaign with a 3-1 loss to Argentina in their final Group J match at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday.

His Majesty King Abdullah and HRH Crown Prince Hussein attended the match.

Argentina made a confident start and took the lead in the 19th minute when Giovani Lo Celso curled a superb left-footed free kick into the top-left corner, leaving Jordan goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila with no chance.

The South American champions doubled their advantage in the 31st minute after a VAR review resulted in a penalty. Lautaro MartInez calmly converted from the spot, sending a right-footed effort into the bottom-left corner to make it 2-0.

Jordan showed greater attacking intent after the break and were rewarded in the second half when Mousa Tamari reduced the deficit.

The forward finished from the centre of the penalty area after meeting a pinpoint cross from Ehsan Haddad, scoring Jordan's first-ever goal against Argentina and becoming the first player to find the net against the defending world champions during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Al Nashama continued to push forward in search of another goal, but Argentina's quality proved decisive.

Eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi, who began the match on the bench, was introduced in the second half and put the result beyond doubt in the 80th minute with a trademark free kick that found the back of the net to seal a 3-1 victory for Argentina.

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