By SCHUYLER DIXON
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Lionel Messi is out of the starting lineup as expected for Argentina’s group stage finale with first place secured going into a matchup against Jordan, which is already eliminated from the knockout round.
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Coach Lionel Scaloni has suggested Messi, the all-time leading men’s World Cup scorer, could come off the bench at AT&T Stadium on Saturday night, three days after his 39th birthday.
Nicolás Paz, who made his World Cup debut subbing in for Messi late in the 3-0 win over Algeria in the opener, is among nine different starters from the previous game, a 2-0 victory over Austria.
Messi has made 201 international appearances for Argentina, including a FIFA-record 28 World Cup matches. He has scored in six consecutive World Cup games, joining France striker Just Fontaine and Brazil great Jairzinho as only players to do that.
Entering the final day of group play, Messi had a tournament-leading five goals, all of the scoring for Argentina. He had his first World Cup hat trick against Algeria and got his fifth goal in the waning moments of injury time against Austria.
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Messi’s two goals against Austria gave him 18 and broke the record of 16 he shared with Germany striker Miroslav Klose. Messi is in his sixth World Cup. Klose played 214 games over four tournaments from 2002-14, and his final goal came in the 2014 final for a 1-0 victory over Messi and Argentina.
Kylian Mbappé matched Klose at 16 with two goals in France’s 3-0 win over Iraq a few hours after Messi set the record. Mbappé, who is among several players second to Messi with four goals in this tournament, didn’t score in a 4-1 win over Norway in his final group match.
Argentina, the Group J winner, will play the tiny island nation of Cape Verde, a first-time World Cup qualifier, in the round of 32 on Friday in Miami, the home of Messi’s MLS team.
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