Ronaldo and Messi could finally meet at the World Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, after five failed attempts, could meet in a World Cup match for the first time in their careers, if there are no surprises during the group stage, in the Round of 16 of the tournament to be held from June 11 to July 19 in the USA, Mexico, and Canada. However, although Argentina reached the final and won against France, Portugal was eliminated by Morocco in the quarter-finals. If Portugal finishes first in its group and Argentina as one of the best third-place teams, they could face each other in the Round of 16 on July 3 in Kansas City. It will depend on the performance of their two teams, Portugal and Argentina, who, due to minor details, have not managed to cross paths in the five World Cups they have both played in. In the first one they both participated in, Germany 2006, they could only have faced each other in the final. The football world will have one last more opportunity to witness the duel of duels that many are waiting for, and which, for the last time, in a last dance for Cristiano (40) and Messi (38), could take place. In Brazil 2014, the catastrophe in the group stage for the Portuguese team prevented a possible quarter-final showdown in a World Cup where the Albiceleste reached the final and lost to Germany. If both teams finish second, and as long as they get past the Round of 16, they would meet in the quarter-finals on July 6 in Dallas. It was not possible because Argentina was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Germany on penalties and Portugal in the semi-finals by France (0-1). Portugal is in group K with Uzbekistan, Colombia, and one of the winners of the international playoff (New Caledonia, Jamaica, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo), while Argentina will play in group J with Algeria, Austria, and Jordan. Russia 2018 was the edition in which both players came closest to facing each other in a World Cup. Throughout history, World Cups have been capricious and have not left for memory an encounter between Cristiano and Messi. If both teams manage to finish the group stage in first place, they would cross paths in the quarter-finals to be played in Kansas City on July 11. If there are no surprises of any kind and neither team fails in the group stage, we will have to wait until the quarter-finals to finally, at the sixth opportunity, see two historic rivals in one of the most anticipated duels of the World Cup.