Argentina will face its last match of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup with a decision that changes the team's usual focus: Lionel Messi will not start against Jordan. The Albiceleste captain will start the match from the substitute bench, as confirmed this Friday by coach Lionel Scaloni before the duel scheduled at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

The Argentine team has already secured the lead in group J and also knows its next rival in the round of 32: Cape Verde. In this context, the coaching staff chose to manage efforts before the start of the knockout phase of a tournament that, under the new 48-team format, requires a greater load of matches in less time.

During the pre-match conference, Scaloni left one of the most relevant news of the day by responding directly to the situation of the Argentine captain.

“Leo is going to go to the bench,” said the coach when asked by journalist Enrique Macaya. Then he added: "I'm answering because it's you, the second question you asked me (about the starting team) I'm keeping to myself. Leo is going to start later."

Argentina manages loads before crossings

The decision comes after an outstanding start to the tournament for Messi. The Argentine striker, who recently turned 39, scored the team's five goals in the first two games of the World Cup and reached a historic mark.

With these scores, the attacker reached 18 goals in World Cups and became the tournament's all-time top scorer. First he equaled Miroslav Klose's record of 16 goals after scoring a hat trick against Algeria and then definitively surpassed that figure in the 2-0 victory against Austria.

In addition to the scoring record, Messi has accumulated 201 matches with Argentina and reached 28 matches played in World Cups, a record number within the competition.

He also managed to score in six consecutive participations in World Cups, a record he shares only with Just Fontaine and Jairzinho.

The path to the sixteenth already has a destination

The match against Jordan will have a lower competitive value for Argentina in terms of classification, although it will serve to adjust pieces before the direct matches.

Jordan, which is playing in its first World Cup, lost its two previous matches and arrives with no options to alter the fate of the group. On the other hand, Argentina is already thinking about the next challenge.

Next Friday, July 3, the current world champion will face Cape Verde in Miami for a place in the round of 16. If it manages to advance, the compressed schedule of the tournament would force up to five games to be played in just 17 days towards a hypothetical final scheduled for July 19.

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