{"id":5701,"date":"2026-06-28T06:33:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T06:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5701"},"modified":"2026-06-28T06:33:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T06:33:33","slug":"messi-is-out-of-the-starting-lineup-but-could-play-in-argentinas-group-finale-against-jordan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5701","title":{"rendered":"Messi is out of the starting lineup but could play in Argentina\u2019s group finale against Jordan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By SCHUYLER DIXON<\/p>\n

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) \u2014 Lionel Messi is out of the starting lineup as expected for Argentina\u2019s group stage finale with first place secured going into a matchup against Jordan, which is already eliminated from the knockout round.<\/p>\n

Read more Another right back down for England at the World Cup as Jarell Quansah exits with ankle injury<\/a><\/p>\n

Coach Lionel Scaloni has suggested Messi, the all-time leading men\u2019s World Cup scorer, could come off the bench at AT&T Stadium on Saturday night, three days after his 39th birthday.<\/p>\n

Nicol\u00e1s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Read more Colombia wins Group K after 0-0 draw with Portugal; both squads already into World Cup knockouts<\/a><\/p>\n

Messi\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 matched Klose at 16 with two goals in France\u2019s 3-0 win over Iraq a few hours after Messi set the record. Mbapp\u00e9, who is among several players second to Messi with four goals in this tournament, didn\u2019t score in a 4-1 win over Norway in his final group match.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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\u2019s MLS team.<\/p>\n

Read more Congo rallies to a 3-1 win against Uzbekistan to seal place in the World Cup knockouts<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

See more of AP\u2019s World Cup coverage here <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By SCHUYLER DIXON ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) \u2014 Lionel Messi is out of the starting lineup as expected for Argentina\u2019s group stage finale with first place secured going into a matchup against Jordan, which is already eliminated from the knockout round. Coach Lionel Scaloni has suggested Messi, the all-time leading men\u2019s World Cup scorer, could come [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,6,64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer","category-sports","category-world-cup-2026"],"yoast_head":"\nMessi is out of the starting lineup but could play in Argentina\u2019s group finale against Jordan - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5701\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Messi is out of the starting lineup but could play in Argentina\u2019s group finale against Jordan - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By SCHUYLER DIXON ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) \u2014 Lionel Messi is out of the starting lineup as expected for Argentina\u2019s 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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