Dallas, June 28 (IANS) Lionel Messi added another remarkable milestone to his legendary career as he became the first player to score in seven consecutive FIFA World Cup matches during Argentina’s final group game against Jordan at Dallas Stadium on Sunday.

Messi, was named among the substitutes, came of the bench on the hour and promptly set about ensuring that Argentina would collect a third straight victory with a wonderful free-kick to extend both Argentina’s lead and his own scoring record.

Notably, Argentina fielded a World Cup starting XI without Lionel Messi for the first time since June 2006, when La Albiceleste were beaten in a quarter-final by host nation Germany.

The 39-year-old striker lashed home an 80th-minute free-kick when he curled it past the wall, scoring in his seventh successive World Cup game and also extending his own all-time finals record to 19. He is now two strikes ahead of superstar quartet Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Vinicius Junior and Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race.

The streak started with the Round of 16 game at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where Messi scored in the 35th minute. He then scored penalties in the quarter-final and semi-final against Netherlands and Croatia, respectively. In the final against France, he converted from the spot again before adding another in extra time.

In the current edition, he began with a hat-trick against Algeria and followed it with a brace against Austria, which saw him surpass former Germany forward Miroslav Klose as the all-time leading men’s goalscorer in the FIFA World Cup.

These achievements come during Messi’s sixth FIFA World Cup campaign, making him the first men’s player ever to appear in six editions of the tournament (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026).

As Argentina progresses to the knockout rounds, Messi will have the opportunity to continue extending his record on football’s grandest stage.

–IANS

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