Lionel Messi came on to set another World Cup record but Argentina coach Lionel Scolani rather highlighted the fact that his iconic captain had decided himself not to start.
"He doesn't think so much about his numbers. He simply decided it. That shows what Messi means for this team. It was wonderful," Scolani said after Saturday's 3-1 against Jordan.
"He could have played for 90 minutes - but he went out [of the starting XI] and wanted to give his team-mates playing time on the pitch."
Said Messi post-match on Instagram: "We keep moving forward together."
Messi came on after an hour and completed the scoring in the final group match with an 80th-minute free-kick.
It was his sixth goal of the tournament to top the scorers' charts, he extended the all time World Cup goals record to 19 and became the first player to score in seven successive World Cup games.
The 39-year-old moved one ahead of Just Fontaine of France and Brazil's Jairzinho who scores in all six matches in 1958 and 1970, respectively.
Messi would have also scored in all games in 2022 but registered no goal in the final group match against Poland. His current streak thus started in the last 16 four years ago.
In order to to match Fontaine and Jairzinho by scoring in every game he would need to net in five more matches at this tournament - starting with a round of 32 date against surprise team Cape Verde on Friday.
There Messi and his team-mates will be up against 40-year-old keeper Vozinha who has gained cult status by keeping clean sheets in goalless draws against European champions Spain and Saudi Arabia and an exploding number of Instagram followers.
"It is the dream of every footballer to play against Argentina and Lionel Messi," Vozinha said.
Cape Verde drew all their three games, the other 2-2 with Uruguay to become the smallest nation to reach the World Cup knock-out stages, and Scolani warned that "there are no easy games."
The defending champions are however big favourites as the Jordan match with nine changes in the starting XI showed that Scolani has plenty of options.
Friday's victory was the 50th for Argentina overall at the World Cup, with only Brazil (78) and Germany (70) ahead of the triple champions.
“We still get butterflies in our stomachs when we play for Argentina,” Scaloni said.
So do the fans when it comes to Messi as they chanted his name from the start of the second half until he finally joined on the hour.
Asked what he told Messi, Scaloni simply said: "I only said that he should warm up. What else should I tell him? I don't have to tell him anything, he knows it."
Forner Sweden star Zlatan Ibrahimovic said that the fans got "what they wanted" when Messi came on and scored and Argentine paper Olé said: "Messi, always Messi."
But Olé also noted that the big team rotation “provided proof of its flexibility, of its versatility, which goes beyond the extraordinary performance of Lionel Messi.”
