Jordan was already eliminated from the tournament, while Argentina went through well.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said Messi, who turned 39 three days earlier, could feature on the bench for the game at AT&T Stadium.
New faces get a chance
Nicolás Paz was included in the starting line-up as he made his World Cup debut in place of Messi late on in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria in the opening game.
In all, Scaloni made nine changes from the side that beat Austria 2-0 in the previous match.
Messi continues to rewrite World Cup history
Messi has now played 201 games for Argentina, including 28 FIFA World Cup appearances.
He has scored six consecutive World Cup goals, becoming the third player to do so behind France’s Just Fontaine and Brazilian legend Jairzinho.
Going into the final round of the group stage, Messi topped the scoring chart with five goals, all of Argentina’s goals to date.
He scored his first World Cup hat-trick against Algeria before adding his fifth goal in injury time against Austria.
Counting record-breaking goals
Messi’s two goals against Austria took him to 18th at the World Cup, breaking the previous record of 16 shared by Germany great Miroslav Klose.
This is Messi’s sixth World Cup appearance. Klose made 214 international appearances in four World Cups between 2002 and 2014, with his last World Cup goal coming in Germany’s 1-0 win over Argentina at the end of 2014.
France star Kylian Mbappé equaled Klose’s 16 World Cup goals by scoring twice in a 3-0 win over Iraq just hours after Messi broke the record.
Mbappé, who is one of several players with four goals in the tournament, did not concede in France’s 4-1 win over Norway in their final group game.
The Argentine team has left Cape Verde
As winners of Group J, Argentina will now face Cape Verde in the Round of 32 on Friday in Miami.
This will be Cape Verde’s first appearance in a FIFA World Cup knockout tournament, with the match also being played in the home city of Messi’s MLS club.
