News, goals, and analysis – only on the official A BOLA app. World Cup World Cup After the 3-1 victory over Jordan, which sealed the end of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup for Argentina, coach Lionel Scaloni spoke about the management of Lionel Messi, who started on the bench, came on in the 60th minute, and scored the last goal from a direct free kick. GOAL 19 FOR MESSI IN WORLD CUPS 🔥 He becomes the first player to score in 7 consecutive World Cup matches 😱 #sporttvportugal #MUNDIALna SPORTTV #FIFA2026 #Jordan #Argentina #betano pic.twitter.com/6Yt Gxw78l2 The 39-year-old player reached his 19th goal in World Cups, reinforcing his status as the top scorer in the tournament’s knockout stages, and his sixth in the current edition. He also became the first player to score in seven consecutive matches in World Cup knockout stages. Scaloni revealed that it was Messi himself who suggested starting as a substitute to allow his teammates to play and to rest for the upcoming challenges. “Today he could have played the full 90 minutes and, without undermining the opponent, could have enhanced that legend and increased his numbers. But he preferred that his teammates have minutes and think about what comes next. This says a lot about him, because he doesn’t think so much about those numbers that people talk about so much,” explained the coach. “This demonstrates what the national team, the group, and his teammates represent to him. Besides that, I am like you: there are no more words,” he concluded. Regarding the match against Jordan, Scaloni expressed satisfaction in giving minutes to less-used players, highlighting that the game was useful for evaluating the options available in the squad. One of the experiments was using Exequiel Palacios, usually a midfielder, in the right-back position.
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