FIFA World Cup. Record-breaker Lionel Messi rested for Argentina’s group finale against Jordan Football News:
Defending champion Argentina will walk out without their talismanic captain Lionel Messi in the starting lineup when they face tournament debutants Jordan in their final encounter in Group J this Sunday.With Argentina already wrapped up in the top spot in Group J, head coach Lionel Scaloni chose to wrap his crown in cotton wool. Speaking on Saturday, just two days after Messi celebrated his 39th birthday, Scaloni confirmed that the newly crowned all-time top scorer at the World Cup will start on the bench, although he dropped a heavy hint that the maestro will appear at the end.“Messi will start the game on the bench, but he will come later,” Scaloni told reporters, keeping his tactical cards close to his chest without revealing the exact time of the substitution or his starting XI.The decision comes as a calculated piece of load management. Messi has single-handedly carried the Argentine attack in North America, scoring all five of the team’s goals so far. He hit a vintage hat-trick against Algeria to equal the men’s all-time scoring record before breaking Miroslav Klose and Marta’s two tournament totals with a clinical brace against Austria on Monday.Additionally, Messi’s build-up to the quadrennial showpiece was plagued by a serious hamstring injury during his domestic season with Inter Miami. Although there have been no visible health concerns since the start of the tournament, the Argentine camp is fully aware of the physical marathon that awaits ahead.Argentina’s quest for a consecutive global crown enters its business end next Friday in South Florida. If La Albiceleste reach the grand finale on July 20, they will face a grueling, unforgiving schedule of five matches packed into just 17 days.Given the high-intensity nature of modern knockout football, saving Messi’s legs against a wildly inconsistent Jordan squad made perfect tactical sense. While the fans inside the stadium were desperate for a glimpse of the genius, Scaloni’s focus was firmly trained on making sure his master strategist was operating at 100 percent when the win-or-go-home boundary arrived.
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