Jordan are out of the World Cup after two relatively narrow defeats but fans are worried that their last match on Saturday against Argentina could end in a rout, with some imploring Lionel Messi to take it easy on the team.
Messi, the tournament's top scorer so far, posted a video on Instagram this week showing him working out in the gym after Argentina defeated Austria 2-0 and secured first place in Group J.
The video showed him lifting dumbbells and doing pull-ups before giving the camera a thumbs-up. While there was no reference to Saturday's match, it appears to have been interpreted as a warning.
In comments on the Instagram video and posts on other social media platforms, Jordanians implored Messi to go easy on their team.
“For the love of God, what have we done to you?” Instagram user Mohanad Soud said. “You didn't train this hard against Algeria and Austria.”
“What do you want from Jordan?” Mr Soud asks in video message with an inset of the footage Messi posted. “You have everything – all the trophies, all the medals. Let them win.”
Even without strength training, the 39-year-old Argentinian forward “performs wonders”, he said.
Another Instagram user, who goes by l.nashmi962, addressed Messi and questioned whether anyone in Jordan had “made you angry”.
“Half of Jordan supports Argentina because of you. Isn't your father ill? Why don't you go visit him and leave us alone? It is enough what happened to us,” he said.
Supporter Khaled Al Azzah wrote in a comment on Messi's video that Jordan was taking part in the World Cup “for the honour of participation”, adding: “Let us preserve that honour.”
Another commenter made a similar plea, writing: “Why do you want to cause us psychological angst? Let us exit with peace.”
Compared with some other Arab countries represented at the tournament, Jordan lacks a strong footballing tradition. Its team is ranked 63rd in the world, well below the rest of group J.
Jordan lost its opening game against Austria 3-1, although the match was closer than the score suggests. This was followed by a 2-1 loss to Algeria after a lacklustre performance. A young man died after that game in a crush in central Amman, where thousands of fans had gathered to watch on giant screens.
Messi's five goals have made him the leading goal scorer in the history of the World Cup, with a total of 18 from six tournaments.
Property agent Hamed Al Rasem said the only hope for Jordan to avoid an embarrassing scoreline was for Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni to substitute Messi and his other top players “very early” in the game.
“The only competition will be Jordanian players racing after the game to exchange shirts with Messi,” he told The National.
