Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have stood at the pinnacle of the football world for over a decade now, so it seems only fitting that they should play against each other in the final of the sport’s biggest event—the World Cup!
Sure enough, the World Cup 2018 final is quite a longshot for the two players. Messi’s Argentina struggled to qualify for the tournament while Ronaldo’s Portugal aren’t even considered as title contenders.
However, the meeting of the two nations—and their star players—would be a dream come true for everyone, football fan or not.
Not to mention that it holds great importance for the two players who will undoubtedly go down as two of the best and most talented athletes to have ever played the beautiful game.
Last chance for World Cup glory
Whether we accept it or not, the FIFA World Cup in Russia is probably the last time we’ll see Messi and Ronaldo at their best.
Messi is already 30 years old and will be 34 by the next instalment of the event in Qatar. It’s not even certain yet if he would still be with the national team by that time. The Argentine maestro once retired from international football after their Copa America defeat, and another failure might force him to hang up his boots for good.
In fact, Messi admitted last March that the football World Cup in Russia is probably his last chance to win a trophy with the senior team, saying that they “are not going to have another possibility.”
The same goes for Ronaldo who is yet to win the “Big One” for the underachieving Portugal team.
At 33, Ronaldo’s peak years are numbered. There were even suggestions last year that he is already on the decline following his slow start with Spanish club Real Madrid.
Ronaldo has since bounced back and has proven he still has plenty left on his tank. Now, he will look to prove that he can lead his team to a major trophy—something which he somehow “failed” to do after getting injured in their Euro 2016 title fight.
And what better way to do it than against his archrival, Messi?
Messi or Ronaldo: The great debate
Well, this is about this, isn’t it? The never-ending debate of “who’s better between Messi and Ronaldo.”
The two have played out plenty of intense matches over the years and have been neck and neck with each other when it comes to achievements and milestones.
Both footballers have won the Ballon d’Or five times, with Ronaldo winning the 2017 honour after his exploits for club and country.
They have been setting and breaking scoring records one after the other as well. Messi and Ronaldo are the only two players to have scored 300 or more goals in the Spanish top-flight, with the Portuguese talisman doing it in fewer matches than his Argentine rival.
Furthermore, according to UEFA, the two share the record for the most European Golden Shoe awards (four) and the most Champions League goals in the group stage (60).
With what they have achieved, there’s no doubt Messi and Ronaldo have their spots reserved on the pantheon of football greats. Nonetheless, it’s also clear that only the prize which has eluded them both can put an end to this generation’s biggest debate.
Is a Messi-Ronaldo World Cup final possible?
As mentioned earlier, the two players and their countries face a tough road before making it to the deciding game in Moscow.
I have discussed previously the chances of Argentina making it to the final wherein I noted their struggles in the qualifying campaign that led them to change manager three times. The fact that they needed their final game to make it past the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers also tells a lot about their form in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Portugal head into the competition as European Champions, proving they have what it takes to win a major international game. However, they recently suffered an ugly defeat at the hands of the Netherlands, who didn’t even qualify for the big event in Russia.
Indeed, both Argentina and Portugal have plenty of issues to work on before they can be legitimate favourites to lift the trophy by mid-July.
They have the best players in the world with Messi and Ronaldo. Nevertheless, before we can be treated to that dream finale between the two juggernauts of world football, we need their respective teams (and teammates) to step up and make things happen.
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