Lionel Messi to Start on Bench for Argentina vs Jordan
Lionel Messi will watch the start of Argentina’s final Group J game from the sideline.
Head coach Lionel Scaloni confirmed on Saturday that his captain will not start against Jordan on Sunday, a rare sight in a World Cup where Messi has again bent the tournament to his will.
“Leo will start on the bench. Leo will come in a little bit later,” Scaloni said, making it clear Argentina’s No. 10 is being managed, not dropped.
A breather for a man carrying the goals
Argentina have already done the heavy lifting in the group. Wins over Algeria and Austria sealed a place in the Round of 32 with a game to spare, and Messi has been at the heart of it all, scoring all five of Argentina’s goals so far.
He opened the campaign with a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria, his first-ever treble at a World Cup, a landmark moment that dragged him level with Miroslav Klose’s career record of 16 World Cup goals. Then came Austria in Dallas. Two more goals, a 2-0 victory, and the record broken outright in the stadium that usually belongs to the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. The same arena will stage Sunday’s group finale.
Scaloni did not reveal when Messi will be introduced or how heavily he plans to rotate against Jordan, making their first World Cup appearance and already out after two defeats. For Argentina, the stakes are different now: rhythm without risk, sharpness without strain.
Chasing records, managing miles
Messi’s numbers are stretching into previously untouched territory. He now has 18 World Cup goals across six editions of the tournament, and has made a FIFA-record 28 World Cup appearances for Argentina. He has scored in six consecutive World Cup games, joining Just Fontaine and Jairzinho in one of the competition’s most exclusive clubs.
The comparison with Klose still lingers. The German striker reached his 16 goals in 24 World Cup matches and signed off by lifting the trophy in 2014, beating Messi’s Argentina 1-0 in extra time in the final. That defeat has shadowed much of Messi’s international career. This World Cup offers another chance to rewrite that ending.
Kylian Mbappe is lurking in the record books too. The France forward matched Klose’s 16-goal mark with a brace in France’s 3-0 win over Iraq and has four goals at this tournament. He drew a blank in a 4-1 victory over Norway in his final group game, but the race at the top of the scoring charts is starting to feel like a private duel between generations.
The long road ahead for La Albiceleste
Argentina’s decision to rest Messi from the start is rooted in more than simple rotation. The 37-year-old arrived at this World Cup after managing a minor hamstring issue at Inter Miami, a concern that slowed his build-up but has not visibly limited him in the tournament itself.
Yet the schedule is brutal. If Argentina are to reach another World Cup final, this Jordan game is just the calm before a storm of knockout football. The Round of 32 for La Albiceleste begins next Friday in South Florida. From there, a run to the final on July 19 would mean five matches in 17 days.
That is a lot of minutes for any player. For Messi, it is potentially the last stretch of his World Cup story.
So on Sunday, Argentina’s greatest player will wait his turn. The cameras will still find him on the bench, the stadium will still buzz every time he warms up, and Jordan will know that even if they keep him out of the starting XI, the most dangerous man in the tournament is only ever one substitution away.
