Messi will start the match against Jordan on the bench

Having won an early ticket to the 1/16 finals, the coaching staff of the Argentina national team will give its main scorer a rest. It is expected that the young talent Nico Paz will come on the field instead of Messi from the first minutes. Argentina captain Lionel Messi will start the final match of the group stage against the national team of Jordan from the bench. This was announced by the team's head coach, Lionel Scaloni, during the Friday press conference at the AT&T Stadium. "Leo will be a reserve player tomorrow, he will play later. We will announce the team composition tomorrow," said the coach of the Argentines. Argentina have already secured their place in the Round of 16 as undisputed winners of Group J with wins over Algeria and Austria. It is already known that the 2022 world champions will play their next match in Miami next Friday. Their opponent will be the Cape Verde national team, which finished second in Group N. Despite this, Lionel Scaloni assured that the selection of players for the match against Jordan is not determined by the tournament grid: "The decision about who starts tomorrow is not about who we face in the next round." The Inter Miami star is currently the only Argentina national team player to score at this tournament and is firmly in the lead in the race for the Golden Boot. He already has five goals in two starting matches: he scored a hat-trick against Algeria, after which Thanks to this performance, however, on the eve of the tournament, Messi was bothered by a slight injury to the left hamstring, which slowed down his movements, so rest before the playoff stage looks like a logical step for the coaching staff. Several new faces are expected to appear in Saturday's match. The only starting player who will keep his place on the field will most likely be goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. Nico Paz should take Lionel Messi's place in the starting lineup. Earlier, he had already made his debut at the World Cup, replacing the captain at the end Lionel Scaloni emphasized that despite the rotation, the team is not going to relax: "We hope that the team will play the same way. That's what we will try to do. Jordan is a good opponent, and we do not take anything for granted. We will try to correct some aspects of the last match, but with the same goal - to control the ball and dominate the opponent," the manager summarized. Immediately after the game with Jordan, the Argentinian delegation will go to Miami, where they will begin immediate preparation for the round of 16 match.