Argentina already have Group J wrapped up, and Jordan vs Argentina arrives at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas with Lionel Scaloni expected to use the match to manage his lineup. Argentina reached the final game with two wins from two, five goals from Lionel Messi and none conceded.
Lionel Messi and Argentina
Messi turns 39 on 24 June, and he has already played the full 90 minutes in both group matches. That workload sits at the center of Argentina’s planning now, because the knockout rounds follow this match and the group table no longer changes for them.
He has still driven the numbers. Against Algeria, he scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 win at Kansas City Stadium and moved to 16 World Cup goals, level with Miroslav Klose. Against Austria at AT&T Stadium, he missed a penalty in the ninth minute before scoring in the 38th and 95th minutes, taking his overall World Cup total to 18.
Scaloni’s squad choices
Scaloni can change more than half the starting eleven without a significant drop in quality, and that gives Argentina room to rest players without changing the level too sharply. Giovani Lo Celso, Nico Paz, Valentin Barco and Jose Manuel Lopez are the names ready to step in if the rotation is heavier than expected.
The match is scheduled for 3:00am BST, or 9:00pm local time, and bet365 has Argentina at 1.18 for the full-time result. That price reflects a side that has won nine straight, scored 23 goals and conceded one in seven matches before the World Cup, then kept its group-stage clean sheet intact across the first two games.
Jordan’s late resistance
Jordan are already out, but they have not arrived as passengers. Ali Olwan scored their first World Cup goal against Austria in the 50th minute, and Nizar Al-Rashdan added the second against Algeria with a deflected strike from the edge of the area in the 36th minute.
They still lost both matches. Austria beat them 3-1 after a Yazan Al-Arab own goal in the 76th minute and a Marko Arnautovic penalty in the 12th minute of added time, while Algeria answered with Benbouali’s header in the 69th minute and Gouiri’s set-piece finish in the 82nd minute. Three of Jordan’s five goals conceded in the tournament have come from corners, a problem Argentina can test if they attack the same area.
So the story is less about qualification than selection. Argentina have already secured first place, Jordan have already been eliminated, and the only real suspense left is how much Scaloni trims his lineup before the knockout rounds and whether Messi gets a lighter night after carrying the group-stage load.
