Lionel Messi to start on bench for Argentina World Cup match against Jordan

Lionel Messi to start on bench for Argentina World Cup match against Jordan

Argentina will face Jordan on Saturday, June 27, in their final Group J match without Lionel Messi in the starting lineup. Coach Lionel Scaloni confirmed Friday that the captain will begin the game on the bench, though he indicated through an interpreter that Messi will come in a little bit later.

The decision comes as Argentina has already secured the top spot in Group J following two opening wins. Regardless of the outcome on Saturday, the defending tournament champions will advance to the knockout stage to face the second-place team from Group H. Jordan, a first-time World Cup participant, enters the match having lost its first two games and is guaranteed to finish bottom of the group.

Messi, who celebrated his 39th birthday on Wednesday, June 24, has been in prolific form. He scored all five of Argentina's goals in the first two group matches, including a hat trick in a 3-0 victory over Algeria and two goals in a 2-0 win against Austria on Monday, June 22. Those performances pushed his career World Cup total to 18 goals, breaking the previous all-time record of 16 held by Germany's Miroslav Klose.

The record-breaking run has placed Messi in elite company. He has scored in six consecutive World Cup games, a feat shared only by Brazil's Jairzinho and France's Just Fontaine. He also holds a FIFA record with 28 World Cup matches across six tournaments and has 201 total international appearances for Argentina.

Resting the captain serves both tactical and physical purposes. Messi entered the tournament nursing a minor hamstring injury sustained while playing for Inter Miami of Major League Soccer. By starting him on the bench, Scaloni allows Messi to gather strength for a potential deep run in the expanded 48-team tournament. If Argentina reaches the final on July 19, they face five matches in 17 days starting from the knockout round.

The absence of Messi opens the door for rotation. Nicolás Paz, who debuted as a substitute for Messi in the opener against Algeria, is expected to start. Other players who may see minutes include veteran Giovani Lo Celso, Valentín Barco, Exequiel Palacios, and Guiliano Simeone. Backup goalkeepers Juan Musso and Gerónimo Rulli are also pushing for appearances, while Emiliano Martínez may be the only regular starter to feature in the lineup.

Scaloni emphasized that substitutions are based on merit and training performance rather than simply giving players minutes because they have not yet played.

"I think these guys who, if they play tomorrow, they deserve to play,"

Lionel Scaloni, Argentina manager, via Tennessean

Despite the rotation, Scaloni stated that the team's intention remains to control the ball and dominate the opponent. He described Jordan as a good opponent and noted that Argentina is not taking the match for granted as they attempt to go undefeated in group play for the first time since 2014.

The stakes for other teams in the tournament remain high. Kylian Mbappé recently matched Miroslav Klose's career record of 16 goals with two scores in a 3-0 win over Iraq on Monday, June 22, though he did not find the net in France's 4-1 win over Norway on Friday.

Following the group finale in Arlington, Texas, Argentina will travel to South Florida for a round-of-32 match on July 1. Their opponent will be either Spain, Uruguay, or Cabo Verde.