Argentina head the World Cup 2026 Round of 32 with tons of momentum and confidence, as they’re one of the three teams to get out of the group stage with a 100-per cent record, alongside France and tournament co-hosts Mexico.
And this may sound like a broken record, but the immortal Lionel Messi has been the hero once again. The Inter Miami star came off the bench in La Albiceleste’s dead rubber match against Jordan, and he found the back of the net as usual, guiding Argentina to a 3-1 victory at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
Meanwhile, Austria and Algeria shared the spoils in a 3-3 draw at Arrowhead Stadium, joining Argentina in the next round. Five different players were on the scoresheet in this pulsating contest. Following these World Cup 2026 results, Argentina have drawn Cape Verde as their Round of 32 opponents, while Austria and Algeria will face Spain and Switzerland next.
Algeria 3-3 Austria
Despite being guaranteed to finish second in Group J, according to the SBOTOP World Cup 2026 odds, Austria started their match against Algeria as if they were on the brink of elimination.
Ralf Rangnick’s men controlled the early proceedings and almost scored within the first 10 minutes, as Xaver Schlager could only fire above the crossbar in the eighth. After that, Austria waited patiently before taking the lead.
Following the first hydration break, Marko Arnautovic made it 1-0, as he raced on David Alaba’s long ball to score on a low drive to the bottom-right corner past Oussama Benbot’s hands in the 28th minute. The Red Star Belgrade striker almost had a brace moments later, but he fired his shot wide left before Fares Chaibi hit the post with a powerful volley.
At 37 years and 70 days, Arnautovic is the oldest Austrian to start a World Cup match, surpassing Michael Konsel, who was 36 years and 109 days old when he started against Italy in 1998.
Algeria made it 1-1 before halftime when Rafik Belghali cut inside and rifled into the roof of the net after Riyad Mahrez kept the ball in. But Austria reclaimed the lead 10 minutes after the restart when Marcel Sabitzer converted from the edge of the box after receiving the ball from Konrad Laimer for his ninth long-range goal for the national team. Five minutes later, it was all level again, when Houssem Aouar marauded from the left flank and laid the ball off to Mahrez for a tap-in.
Mahrez, who became the second Algerian to score multiple goals in a World Cup match since Salah Assad in 1982 against Chile, thought he had won the match when he scored in the third minute of stoppage time. But Sasa Kalajdzic had other ideas three minutes later, as the LASK forward scored off a glancing header from Michael Gregoritsch.
Austria and Algeria finished with solid expected goals from this contest, with the former at 1.44 xG and the latter at 1.62 xG.
Jordan 1-3 Argentina
With Lionel Messi on the bench, it was Nicolas Otamendi who had the captain’s armband against Jordan, and the veteran centre-back headed the match’s first opportunity over the crossbar from a corner, a few minutes after Giovani Lo Celso’s goal in the seventh minute was ruled out for offside.
However, Lo Celso (in his World Cup debut) made sure that his second opportunity counted, as the Real Betis midfielder fired an exquisite left-footed free-kick past goalie Yazeed Abulaila into the top-left corner in the 19th minute.
La Albiceleste ramped up the pressure, as Lautaro Martinez and Marcos Senesi tested Abulaila. Senesi drew a penalty on Nizar Al-Rashdan, whose boot caught Senesi’s face for a clearance. Martinez eventually made it 2-0, as he sent Abulaila the wrong way from 12 yards out.
Otamendi and Julian Alvarez came close to making it 3-0 for Argentina before the halftime break, and Martinez hit the woodwork again early in the second half after another disallowed goal by Lo Celso. However, Jordan made it 2-1 when substitute Mousa Al-Taamari turned in Ihsan Haddad’s beautiful delivery.
Messi finally came in at the hour mark, and the Inter Miami forward’s free-kick sailed over the bar five minutes in. He eventually found the back of the net (again) in the 80th minute with a sharp, low set-piece around Jordan’s defensive wall for his record-extending 19th World Cup goal.
After celebrating his 39th birthday earlier this week, Messi became the second Argentine to play in a World Cup game aged 39 or older after Angel Labruna in 1958. He has now scored in seven consecutive finals games.
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