ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) 鈥� Lionel Messi is out of the starting lineup for Argentina鈥檚 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 , could come off the bench at AT&T Stadium on Saturday night, three days after .
Nicol谩s Paz, who made his World Cup debut subbing in for Messi late in the in the opener, is among nine different starters from the previous game, a .
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 against Algeria and got his fifth goal in the waning moments of injury time against Austria.
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.
at 16 with two goals in France鈥檚 3-0 win over Iraq a few hours after Messi set the record. Mbapp茅, who is among several players second to Messi with four goals in this tournament, didn鈥檛 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 a first-time World Cup qualifier, in the round of 32 on Friday in Miami, the home of Messi鈥檚 MLS team.
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