Jordan vs Argentina LIVE: Lionel Messi to be on bench for World Cup 2026 game – The New York Times

The Athletic Live Team

June 27, 2026 at 8:47 PM EDT

Group J concludes with defending champion Argentina facing Jordan today in Arlington.

Argentina have already sealed their spot in the knockout round and first place in Group J, with wins in their first two matches.

As for Jordan, they have already been eliminated from the tournament and will play their last 2026 World Cup match today.

Lionel Messi will start the game on the bench but will play, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said yesterday.

• Kick-off: 10pm ET, 7pm PT
• Watch: Fox, Fubo (try for free)

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The astute among you will have noticed that neither the Jordanian Messi nor the actual Messi are starting today.

Start your bids on when we will see both come off the bench tonight!

As for Jamal Sellami’s XI, this is who he has gone for in one of the biggest games in Jordan’s history — even with little on the line.

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

Just the two changes for Jordan, both coming in attack with Mahmoud Al-Mardi and Mousa Al-Tamari (Rennes) making way for Ali Azaizeh and Odeh Al-Fakhouri.

Here we go. This is Lionel Scaloni’s XI to wrap up the group stage and give some players some game time in Dallas.

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

I make that only the two Martinezes that survive from the XI that started against Austria. And why not.

Unconfirmed, but the whisper in the media room here is Nico Paz will get his first World Cup start today, probably playing wide in the midfield four.

The tall, creative left-footed playmaker has been an outstanding talent for Como over the past couple of seasons, and might be the one charged with replacing Leo Messi’s creativity for Argentina after this tournament.

F1 is my usual beat. Stalls like these in F1 usually have shirts on sale for $100-plus. Here, it’s a reasonable $40!

The guy managing the stall told me game-day shirts and scarves — of which they only get a few thousand per game — go the fastest in the fan zone.

And when it’s an Argentina game, they go even faster. Luckily there are more inside the stadium.

I was surprised to learn that, at this stall at least, they don’t provide the workers with water, paid or otherwise. Which feels a bit cruel to me!

Today, Mousa Al-Tamari gets to share a pitch with the genuine article. The billing is generous but Al-Tamari is a fine footballer in his own right: a quick, inverted right winger who cuts inside onto his left the creative heartbeat of Jamal Sellami’s counter-attacking side and the first Jordanian to play in one of Europe’s big-five leagues, now at Stade Rennais.

He’s the man Jordan looks for whenever they break.

There is a gentler side too — born in Amman to a family of Palestinian descent, he memorised the Quran and once taught children to recite it, earning the affectionate nickname “Sheikh Mousa”.

If Jordan are to sign off with a flourish, it will likely run through him. One Messi to another, then.

Jordan are out but few teams have left a warmer mark on this World Cup — and their nickname tells much of the story.

Al-Nashama, they are known: “the chivalrous ones”.

After their heartbreaking defeat to Algeria, the eliminated debutants lived up to the billing, leaving their dressing room immaculate — chairs neatly arranged, the floor spotless — with a handwritten note thanking the host nations and a box of traditional Jordanian sweets for the staff.

The gesture captured a tournament that has meant far more at home than any scoreline. For Jordan’s historic debut, the government pushed back the start of the working day to 10am so the country could watch; in Amman, the 2,000-year-old Roman Theatre was transformed into a heaving fan zone, families packing its ancient stone steps before sunrise.

“We didn’t sleep last night,” one student told reporters. “To see Jordan’s flag flying at a World Cup is something we used to only dream about — winning or losing doesn’t change the fact history has already been written.”

Crown Prince Hussein visited the squad’s camp to lift morale. The whole kingdom, it seemed, was behind them.

The team has grown with every game too, as midfielder Noor Al-Rawabdeh said after the opener: “we overcame our fear … the next game will be more enjoyable.”

For Jordan, this was never really an ending — the message at home, from fans and federation alike, is that the tournament is a beginning, a foundation to build on. History has been written on a football pitch — again.

I have caught the media shuttle to the stadium and to quote Geralt of Rivia from “The Witcher”, wind’s howling. It’s also a blazing hot 96 degrees Fahrenheit (36ºC), so at least fans outside will feel cooler when they get swept into the sky.

Anyone who gets here early will have a strange experience in line.

Hello and welcome once again to our coverage of Group J winners Argentina taking on eliminated Jordan in Dallas.

There should be a bit of freedom for both sides in this one, so hopefully we get plenty to keep us entertained.

And if not, we can just tick down the minutes until Lionel Messi comes on!

We’ll have the team news in about 30 minutes and kick-off is two hours away.

We’ve got loads of build-up on the way for you in the meantime, so don’t go anywhere.

Jordan may yet exit this World Cup without a point, but their journey has given the country reason to celebrate.

Reaching the World Cup was a victory in itself, and Jordan scored a goal in each of their first two matches. Ali Olwan’s gorgeous strike in the 50th minute of Jordan’s opener against Austria will go down in history as their first goal in a World Cup match.

An early elimination is a disheartening blow — especially when other smaller teams have produced some surprises — but they have an opportunity tonight to record their first point and end the tournament on an another historic note.

Ever wonder about all of the patches Lionel Messi wears on his World Cup shirt?

Those patches, which most recently included a World Legacy patch and a Golden Ball Winner patch, will end up on trading cards.

While soccer trading cards do not have as much market interest as sports such as baseball, basketball and American football, two Messi cards have sold for more than $1 million.

Check out this terrific look at the burgeoning Messi collectibles market by Brooks Peck.

A long way from Argentina, a fun story is brewing as Bangladesh has emerged as the leading nation in supporting Lionel Messi and Albiceleste at this World Cup.

From Soumik Saheb, a Bangladeshi and avid supporter:

💬 “There are tens of thousands of people outside and if Argentina win, it ends each time with a rally through the streets. It’s 3am, everyone is asleep, all the shops are closed. But everyone is woken. Even the dogs who literally have nobody but themselves past midnight must be thinking, ‘Why on earth are so many people on the streets at this time?’.”

Daniel Taylor details Banglades’’s love for Argentina during what could be another special World Cup run.

Looking for a show to scratch your World Cup itch? We’ve got you covered:

• The Totally Football Show after every gameday from L.A.
• The Athletic FC Podcast with Emma Paton and Adam Leventhal on the day’s biggest stories.
• Tifo’s live four-hour watchalongs.

Watch or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Lionel Messi made history as the first player to score 18 World Cup goals, in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria.

Which of his goals resonates the most?

The Athletic’s staff writers provided their picks for their favourite Messi World Cup goal below. See if theirs is the same as yours.

Group J winners Argentina are in the fortunate situation of playing in a dead-rubber game tonight — a match in which the fate of both teams is already sealed and the match has nothing riding on it.

As such, head coach Lionel Scaloni has decided Lionel Messi will enter the game as a substitute during the game, rather than Argentina starting with him.

Our writer, Andy Jones, dissects the strategy behind how teams approach dead-rubber games, from the mental and physical impacts to how these contests test managers.

Group J is the final group to complete its group stage matches, with Algeria vs Austria and Jordan vs Argentina both starting at 10pm ET and determining the final spots in the round of 32.

Once these two matches are done, the World Cup will move into the knockout phase — and it will do it quickly.

The round of 32 starts tomorrow, with a single-elimination format taking effect from there on in.

Lionel Messi is not in his prime, but he is still Argentina’s talisman and they are still utilising him to devastating effect.

Is a Messi-led Argentina squad capable of winning it all again?

Our writer, Michael Cox, examines how Argentina and Messi have approached this World Cup and if their aspirations of winning it again are legitimate.

Jordan enter their final group match without a point and are already eliminated, so this has been an underwhelming World Cup on the face of it.

Still, this was Jordan’s World Cup debut — and they have shown flashes of their best, scoring in each of their games.

Austria came out on top in Jordan’s historic first World Cup match with a 3-1 victory. In their second game, Jordan took a 1-0 lead into half-time, only for Algeria to strike back in the second half goals to seal a 2-1 win.