The controversial question returns to circulation again: (Who is better, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?), a discussion that is renewed with the appearance of two stars in the list of their teams, for the fifth time for them at the World Cup. final, this time in Qatar.
For his part, the 35-year-old Messi is participating in his fifth World Cup with Argentina, aiming to lift the trophy for the first time in his career and third in Team Tango history after the 1978 and 1986 titles.
For his part, Cristiano, 37, is aiming to lead Portugal to World Cup victory for the first time in its history, in the European team’s seven previous appearances in the tournament, the best result being third place. in 1966.
And Messi played his first World Cup in 2006 when he was 19 when Argentina were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Germany on penalties, making Germany a knot for Messi. and his team in the World Cup final, in 2010 the team was successful. The Manshafts once again knocked Argentina out of the quarter-finals by beating them with a white quad, and the 2014 version was closest to Messi and his team-mates and more than ever before the crowning of the title. except that Argentina fell into the same crisis of having to overtake Germany, but this time in the final match, this did not happen, and history only insisted on repeating itself with an Argentinean loss with an unanswered goal, and Germany was crowned in the fourth once in its history.
And as for the path of the Portuguese Ronaldo in this most important tournament at the level of a football game, Cristiano took part for the first time in the same World Cup in which the Argentine player Messi first appeared, i.e. in the 2010 World Cup. The Portuguese was less fortunate than his predecessor, as Cristiano and his comrades said goodbye to the 1/8 finals, losing to Spain with a goal for free.
In the next version in 2014 in Brazil, Portugal were eliminated from the group stage after defeating Germany by four in the first leg, then drew against the USA with two goals, and finally beat Ghana with two goals, one of which was scored. from Cristiano.
And as for the expected records for the players, in the four participations of Cristiano Ronaldo in the World Cup, the player has played 17 matches and scored seven goals, and in Qatar he will strive to achieve an achievement that the World Cup has not yet seen. , who scores goals in five different versions of the tournament, while Messi aims to defeat Argentine legend Diego, Armando Maradona, who has made 21 appearances for Tango in four World Cups, while Messi has appeared in 19 matches during which he scored 6 goals, in addition, the Argentine captain aims to achieve another goal, which is to surpass the achievement of the former German player Lothar Matthäus, who has the number record number of appearances in World Cup finals, with only 25 matches in five editions.
Football analysts, before giving their opinion, turn to indicators that ensure that their expectations and visions are correct, and among these indicators is the current situation of the players with their teams, which goes in favor of Messi, who has a good season with his French team, Paris Singerman , while the exact opposite of Cristiano, who suffers along with his team. The Englishman Manchester United, who missed him in the preparatory season for the team, due to his desire to leave in the hope of joining a club that competes in the European Champions League, because that the English team is participating this season in the Europa League.
Finally, while things look better for Messi, Cristiano, as usual, will try to turn criticism into more motivation to achieve achievements, in the manner of Brazilian football legend Pelé, who said: “The harder it is, the merrier.” victory.”
