By Ian KingFIFA’s bizarre switch from goal difference to head-to-head renders this game a dead rubber Through to the second round of the competition with a game to spare and with Lionel Messi firing on all cylinders, Argentina have started the 2026 World Cup exactly as they would have expected, and with a favourable draw, they’re already expected to go deep in this summer’s tournament. Their final group match carries little jeopardy. Having already beaten Austria and Algeria, FIFA’s new system of separating teams who are level on points by the head-to-head scores means that Argentina have already won the group, while the same but inverse means that Jordan are already out with a game to spare.Jordan have a terrible record against South American oppositionThese two teams have never played each other before. Jordan have only ever played six matches against South American opponents before, and their record isn’t especially stellar, with one draw and five defeats, and that single draw came in a play-off for a place at the 2014 finals in which they’d already lost the first leg 5-0 to Uruguay.With one eye on the knockout stages, Argentina are likely to rotate their teamAll eyes will be on Lionel Messi for Argentina, but their defence deserves praise as well. They’ve now kept five consecutive clean sheets in all matches, and their run of eight consecutive wins has seen them concede just once, in a friendly against Mauritania at the end of March. It’s time, then, to give a little recognition to the other old man of their squad, Nicolás Otamendi of Benfica, who has put in two appearances for them from the bench at the ripe old age of 38. With 134 appearances for his country, this is surely his last World Cup, and there’s every chance that he’ll start this match to give either Lisandro Martínez or Cristian Romero a bit of breathing space ahead of the knock-outs. Jordan have failed to win any of their last seven matches, but their performances at this year’s finals have been respectable, with a 3-1 defeat to Austria and a 2-1 loss to Algeria. Their captain, Mousa Taamari, leads Jordan into the World Cup as their most accomplished player. He became the first Jordanian to play in Ligue 1 when he signed for Montpellier in 2023, and had earlier success with APOEL in Cyprus, where he won a league title. He currently plays for Stade Rennais and scored for them in a 3-1 win against PSG in February.With little at stake in this match, we can also expect Jordan to make changesThere’s been much talk of fatigue as a result of the conditions and the pressure of the ever-tightening calendar in global football, so we might expect Lionel Scaloni to make changes for this match. Cristian Romero is one player likely to be rotated onto the bench. He limped off with a knee injury after 57 minutes of their win against Austria, and while the player himself has already moved to assure the public that his injury isn’t serious, we might expect him to sit this one out, with Nicolas Otamendi replacing him. Chasing the Golden Boot, Lionel Messi will be expected to start. Jordan have nothing to play for beyond pride, so the question regarding their team is whether head coach Jamal Sellami will rotate to give his fringe players some World Cup experience, or whether he’ll stick with his strongest available starting XI in the hope of taking a memorable result from this match. They have no injuries or suspensions, going into this match.The need to keep momentum should result in a comfortable Argentina winFIFA have achieved something remarkable by switching from goal difference to head-to-head, by making both of the final games in Group J absurd, and in completely different ways. The Algeria vs Austria game is the kicker here, one in which both teams will likely qualify with a draw and in which both teams may benefit more by losing it and finishing third than by winning it. But this is little better. There wouldn’t have been much to play for under any circumstances, but it’s a complete dead rubber because of Argentina’s two wins. Good work, all involved. Still, there’s a game here to be won and Argentina can give their fringe players a taste of that World Cup fever while resting players who could likely do with a breather as a result of the global game’s relentless schedule. With Jordan already having been eliminated, both sides could release the handbrake and play out a game for pure enjoyment. But none of this lends credence to the possibility of Jordan taking anything from it. Argentina are in outstanding form, they have the top goalscorer in the history of the tournament in dazzling form, and they have a vested interest in keeping their winning run going. I’m going for a 3-0 Argentina win on this occasion, setting them up nicely for a run at going deep again in the knockout stage of the competition. (Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game at the World Cup with FotMob this summer – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. 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