​Nico Paz helped Argentina top Group J after three straight wins, including a victory over Jordan. The midfielder featured as a second-half substitute in Argentina’s opening match and did not play against Austria, but Lionel Scaloni used the final group game to give minutes to players who had been waiting on the bench. Giovanni Lo Celso opened the scoring with a free-kick into the top-left corner following a foul on the edge of the box, while Lautaro Martinez converted a penalty after a handball by Nizar Al Rashdan’s high boot on Senesi. Jordan pulled one back through Mousa Tamari, who finished Ehsan Haddad’s cross, before Lionel Messi sealed the win with a curling free-kick for his record-extending 19th World Cup goal. Paz played 61 minutes, finishing with 50 of 53 passes completed (94%), both long balls, and two successful dribbles from five. He also won four of nine ground duels and made four recoveries, contributing solidly as Argentina sealed progression as Group J leaders.