‘Our joy isn’t complete’: Proud but disappointed Jordanians rue missed opportunities

— Despite the loss to Argentina, Nashama goalscorer Mousa Al-Taamari believes qualification for knockout stages could have been achieved with more focus earlier in tournament

Gary Meenaghan

DALLAS: This was always going to be an unusual World Cup fixture.

On paper, it was a dead rubber: Reigning champions Argentina already through; debutants Jordan already out. La Albiceleste coach Lionel Scaloni had rested his captain, Lionel Messi, with one eye on bigger ties ahead, yet the 70,649 who filled Dallas Stadium had come for a spectacle, and — with or without their talismanic history-maker — nothing was going to spoil the evening.

Outside the stadium, in a tribute to football’s most contested acronym, a goat was paraded dressed in a Messi shirt, while Jordanian fans offered their South American counterparts the chance to try their national dish, mansaf. Inside the futuristic arena, humorous banners and posters were held high for the cameras. One read: “Sorry Michael, we were Jordan first!”

Argentina controlled possession from the start, unsurprisingly given the 73 places between the two teams in FIFA’s world rankings. Jordan, however, refused to wilt and, even after conceding twice in the first half to Giovani Lo Celso and Lautaro Martinez, they returned after the break with renewed purpose, a pair of changes, and soon found reward.

It came minutes after Messi had removed his bib in preparation for entry, prompting a rise in decibels among the spectators. It was not only the fans whose focus had shifted to the sidelines, as Leandro Paredes switched off just long enough for Mousa Al-Taamari to meet Ehsan Haddad’s cross and sneak in a small piece of Jordanian history. The goal briefly changed the mood inside the