Barco Argentina moved Lionel Messi to the bench for Saturday’s final Group J match against Jordania, and Lionel Scaloni plans to rotate most of Argentina’s regular starters in Dallas. Argentina already has six points and first place, so the lineup decision is about managing the road into the dieciseisavos del Mundial, not changing the group table.
Lionel Scaloni and Messi
On Friday, Scaloni said, "Leo va a ir al banco". He also said, "El anhelo es que el equipo juegue de la misma manera. Es lo que vamos a intentar". That leaves Messi outside the opening lineup, with the possibility of a few minutes still open if the match calls for it.
Argentina’s first rotated group would put Emiliano Martínez in net and bring in Marcos Senesi, Nicolás Tagliafico, Leandro Paredes, Exequiel Palacios, Giovani Lo Celso, Giuliano Simeone, Nicolás Paz, and Julián Álvarez. The goal is to keep the same style without using the same bodies, a sharper test than a normal rest day because the opponent has already been eliminated.
Jordania and Jamal Sellami
Jamal Sellami framed the match from Jordania’s side as a major occasion. "Tengo la esperanza que mañana vamos a estar preparados para este partido histórico ante Argentina," he said Friday in a news conference, and added: "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".
Sellami also addressed the Messi question directly: "Juegue quien juegue es un formidable equipo, muy sólido...Vamos a concentrarnos en nuestro propio juego. Queremos que este partido sea un gran recuerdo para Jordania". That gives Saturday’s game two clear tracks: Argentina’s rotation ahead of the knockout round, and Jordania’s attempt to turn a final group match into something memorable.
Brazil 2014 and Dallas
Argentina is also chasing a third consecutive win in the group stage, something it last did at Brasil 2014. The setting in Dallas adds one more practical layer for readers following the squad: Messi is not starting, most regulars are being protected, and Scaloni has already signaled that the team wants to keep the same intensity even with a changed XI.
The only unresolved piece is how far that rest plan goes once the match starts. If Messi stays on the bench, Argentina will get the full rotation it wanted before the next round; if he enters, it will be for a short run rather than a start, with the group result already settled and the real checkpoint still ahead in the dieciseisavos del Mundial.
