Argentina captain Lionel Messi will begin his country’s final World Cup group match against Jordan on the bench.

The 39-year-old has been the tournament’s standout scorer with five goals in two matches, including a brace against Austria that saw him become the World Cup’s all time leading goalscorer.

Manager Lionel Scaloni made it clear the decision has nothing to do with injury, but is instead aimed at managing Messi’s workload with Argentina already through to the knockout stage.

The Argentina boss expects his captain to feature later in the match, with Messi likely to come off the bench in the second half as the world champions look to finish top of their group.