Lionel Messi will start Argentina's final Group J match against Jordan on the bench on Saturday after the reigning world champions secured top place, coach Lionel Scaloni said.
Messi will come on later in match
Scaloni said Messi would come on later in the match and confirmed that the starting line-up had already been decided. Argentina sealed first place in the group with a 2-0 win over Austria and a 3-0 victory over Algeria.
Messi, who turned 39 on Wednesday, has scored all of Argentina's goals at the FIFA World Cup 2026 in North America and is now the tournament's all-time leading scorer.
Scaloni set for Argentina changes against Jordan
With Argentina through to the last 32 and Jordan already eliminated, Scaloni is expected to make several changes to his side. Argentina will meet the runners-up from Group H, which includes Spain, Uruguay, Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia.
Argentina left-back Nicolas Tagliafico said Messi was performing at an even higher level than during the 2022 World Cup.
"He's at exactly the same level as in 2022, or even better, I would say," Tagliafico said. Argentina's players marked Messi's birthday by wearing specially made T-shirts in his honour, and a cake was also prepared for the captain.
"I think that this was something quite beautiful," Tagliafico said. "At the end of the day these are just small details. When you spend such a long time together and see each other's faces every day, these moments matter. We had a ball, we just had a blast."
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