Why is Lionel Messi not starting in Argentina vs Jordan World Cup match today?

2 min readUpdated: Jun 28, 2026 06:33 AM IST

FIFA World Cup 2026: Lionel Messi starts the Argentina vs Jordan match on the bench. (AP Photo)

Argentina vs Jordan FIFA World Cup 2026: Argentina talisman Lionel Messi will start on the bench during their final Group J match against Jordan at the Dallas Stadium in Arlington on Saturday night.

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The 39-year-old Messi has been benched as manager Lionel Scaloni handles the minutes of his first-choice starting XI ahead of the Round of 32 stage, which begins on Monday. The defending world champions are drawn to face World Cup debutants Cape Verde at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, where Messi currently plays club football with Inter Miami.

The match will be played July 3 at 6:00 p.m. (3:30 a.m. IST on July 4).

Leo will go to the bench. I’ll hold off on the final starting line-up, but Leo will come in later,” Scaloni told reporters.

“The great merit of everything that’s been done goes to the boys who are always there and train to the max,” Scaloni said. “I think that when there’s an opportunity, there are great players who also deserve to come in. And the idea is for the team to play in the same way.”

Argentina began their World Cup title defence without breaking a sweat in Group J, beating Algeria and Austria by comfortable margins. Led by their talismanic captain, Argentina’s goals have all arrived in the form of Messi, who has bagged a hat-trick and a brace to lead the goal-scoring charts.

Argentina starting XI: E.Martinez (GK); Senesi, Tagliafico, Otamendi (c), Paredes, Lo Celso, Palacios, Alvarez, Simeone, Paz, La.Martinez.

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Jordan starting XI: Abulaila (GK); Nasib, Al-Arab, Abu Dahab, Haddad (c), Al-Rashdan, Al-Rawabdeh, Abu Taha, Olwan, Azaizeh, Al-Fakhouri.