39-year-old has been Argentina’s heartbeat at the tournament so far, scoring all five of their goals in the two games played
Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni has confirmed that Lionel Messi will start Saturday’s final World Cup group match against Jordan on the bench, with the defending champions already through to the knockout stage.
Albiceleste secured first place in Group J after victories over Algeria and Austria, allowing Scaloni the chance to rotate his squad before next week’s last-32 tie against Cape Verde in Miami.
“Leo will be a substitute tomorrow, to play later,” said Scaloni before the match at AT&T Stadium. He also insisted the decision was not influenced by Argentina’s next opponents. “The decision of who starts is not in relation to the opponent we’ll face in the next round,” the coach said, pre-empting possible accusations of disrespecting the opposition.
Messi has been Argentina’s heartbeat at the tournament so far, scoring all five of their goals in the two games played. The Inter Miami forward hit a hat-trick against Algeria before scoring twice against Austria to take his men’s World Cup record tally to 18 goals. He also leads the race for the Golden Boot.
The 39-year-old arrived at the tournament with a minor left hamstring injury, and Scaloni appears keen to manage his workload before the knockout rounds.
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is expected to be one of the few regular starters to keep his place. Nico Paz, who replaced Messi late in the opening win over Algeria, is likely to start in attack as Scaloni gives several squad players an opportunity.
“The hope is that the team will play the same way. That’s what we’re going to try to do,” Scaloni said.
“Jordan is a good opponent, and we’re not taking anything for granted. We’ll try to tweak some aspects of the last match, but with the same intention of controlling the ball and dominating the opponent.”
