Lionel Messi to Start on Bench for Argentina's Final Group J Match
Lionel Messi will watch the start of Argentina’s final Group J match from the sidelines.
Head coach Lionel Scaloni confirmed on Saturday that his captain will not start against Jordan on Sunday, choosing to rest the 37-year-old after a blistering opening to the tournament.
“Leo will start on the bench. Leo will come in a little bit later,” Scaloni said, making it clear the plan is to use Messi as a substitute rather than as the focal point from kick-off.
Messi rests, records keep falling
Argentina can afford the luxury. La Albiceleste have already sealed their place in the Round of 32 with clinical wins over Algeria and Austria, and sit comfortably atop the group. Jordan, making their first World Cup appearance and beaten in both of their opening games, now face an Argentina side that can rotate without fear.
Messi has carried the scoring load almost single-handedly so far. He has all five of Argentina’s goals in the competition, including his first World Cup hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria. That treble pulled him level with Miroslav Klose’s long-standing record of 16 World Cup goals.
He didn’t stop there. In the 2-0 victory over Austria on Monday at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys – the same stadium that will stage the group finale – Messi struck again to move out on his own at the top of the all-time World Cup scoring charts. He now stands on 18 goals across six editions of the tournament.
Klose needed 24 World Cup matches for Germany to reach 16, completing his journey by lifting the trophy in 2014 with a 1-0 extra-time win over Messi’s Argentina. Kylian Mbappe has since joined Klose on 16, the French forward hitting a brace in France’s 3-0 win over Iraq earlier in this tournament. Mbappe, on four goals at this World Cup, drew a rare blank in France’s 4-1 victory over Norway in his final group game.
Messi’s numbers remain staggering. He has 201 caps for Argentina and a FIFA-record 28 World Cup appearances. He has now scored in six consecutive World Cup matches, joining Just Fontaine and Jairzinho as the only players ever to do so.
Managing the long road ahead
This decision is not just about rotation. Messi arrived at the World Cup having nursed a minor hamstring issue with Inter Miami in Major League Soccer, a concern that had slowed his preparation. There have been no signs of that problem flaring up during the tournament, but Argentina’s staff know what lies ahead.
If Argentina are to push deep again, the schedule is unforgiving. Their knockout campaign begins next Friday in South Florida. In this expanded 48-team format, a run all the way to the final on July 19 would mean five matches in 17 days.
That is the context for Scaloni’s call: protect the player who has already dragged them through the group, keep his legs fresh, and trust the depth of a squad that no longer feels like a one-man show.
Jordan, still searching for their first World Cup point, now face an Argentina side with its superstar waiting in reserve. The question is no longer whether Messi will score at this World Cup. It’s how long Argentina can keep him in the kind of shape that makes another final feel inevitable rather than nostalgic.
