Cristiano Ronaldo extends massive gap over Lionel Messi with vintage performance

Portugal had a dissapointing open to the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, dropping points in a shocking draw with Congo DR in Group K. After watching his oldest rival, Argentina’s Lionel Messi, score a hat trick in his World Cup opener, Ronaldo failed to find the back of the net a single time, leading many to question whether or not he was holding his national squad back.

Portugal’s coach, Roberto Martínez, defended his star on Monday.

“He’s an example,” Martínez said, via ESPN. “He’s been playing for his country for a long time. He wants to contribute, and he’s a role model for our team.”

That same Monday, Ronaldo had to watch his rival shine again, this time scoring a brace against Austria, bringing his goal total for this World Cup to five, and giving him sole possession of all-time goals scored in the event with 17.

The Portuguese legend responded in a big way. In Tuesday’s tilt, Ronaldo scored a brace of his own in Portugal’s dominant 5-0 win over Uzbekistan, making the Portugal captain the first-ever player to score in six different World Cups: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026.

The striker also silenced whispers that he was a selfish player, fooling everyone in the stadium against Uzbekistan by having Nuno Mendes strike a free kick in the 17th minute rather than him, which found the net.

Ronaldo’s performance also served one other critical function: bolstering his claim over Messi as the greatest footballer to ever take the pitch. His goals increased the massive gap in goals scored over the length of their careers to 59, with Ronaldo tallying 975 and Messi lagging with 916.

Of course, Messi and Argentina won the 2022 World Cup, while Ronaldo has never made it past the semi-finals. However, if he can continue to turn back the clock, he may just be hoisting this trophy too by the end of the summer.