Exequiel Palacios is part of the rotated Argentina plan for Saturday, and Lionel Messi will start on the bench against Jordania. Argentina already has first place in Grupo J locked on six points, so the lineup change is about preserving legs before the round of 16.
Lionel Scaloni said on Friday, “Leo va a ir al banco,” and added that Messi might play some minutes on Saturday. He also said, “El anhelo es que el equipo juegue de la misma manera. Es lo que vamos a intentar.”
Lionel Messi on the bench
Emiliano Martínez is the only starter named in the projected lineup. Marcos Senesi, Nicolás Tagliafico, Leandro Paredes, Exequiel Palacios, Giovani Lo Celso and Giuliano Simeone are the new faces, Nicolás Paz replaces Messi, and Julián Álvarez leads the attack.
The change comes with a clear tradeoff. Argentina is treating the match as low-stakes rotation, while Jordania sees a chance to test itself against the defending champion. Jamal Sellami called it “un partido histórico” for his side and said, “Vamos a jugar contra uno de los mejores equipos del mundo y favorito a llevarse la copa y con un gran futbolista. Vamos a buscar aprender y disfrutar.”
Scaloni keeps the same idea
Scaloni said, “Jordania es un buen rival y para nada nos confiamos. Intentaremos algún matiz del último partido, pero con la misma intención de agarrar la pelota y someter al rival.” The rotation is designed to keep the core fresh for dieciseisavos del Mundial, where Argentina’s opponent will come from Friday in Group H results.
Messi arrives at the bench after turning 39 years. He had already reached 18 World Cup goals, including five goals in Argentina’s wins over Argelia and Austria at the start of the current edition, and Argentina now gets one more group game without changing its position at the top of Grupo J.
Argentina after Group J
The target on Saturday is straightforward: one more group-stage win. Argentina has not put together three consecutive group-stage wins since Brasil 2014, and the rotated side gives Scaloni a chance to chase that mark without asking the captain for a full shift. If Messi enters, it will be on managed minutes; if he stays put, the bench will be the entire plan.
