Argentina, led by the illustrious Lionel Messi, entered the 2026 World Cup as the number one team in the FIFA Men’s World Ranking. Argentina opened its World Cup play on Tuesday night against Algeria.
The 2026 World Cup is Messi’s sixth time competing in the event, and it is widely expected to be his “ultimo tango” (last dance), and he proved to the world that he’s still playing at as high a level as ever. With his first-ever hat-trick in the World Cup, he tied as the event’s all-time leading goal scorer.
“LIONEL MESSIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! FIRST CAREER WORLD CUP HAT TRICK TIES THE ALL-TIME GOAL-SCORING RECORD!”
John Strong on the Fox call of Argentina-Algeria as Lionel Messi makes history. ⚽️🔥🐐🎙️ #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/iqts9ZldPE https://t.co/dtgPVnHC32
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 17, 2026
However, Messi isn’t the only legend competing in North America this summer. The biggest rival over the course of his career, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, is slated to open his World Cup on Wednesday afternoon against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the reality is, even if Ronaldo doesn’t match Messi’s legendary hat-trick, he still stands above Messi on the pantheon of all-time greats.
At his peak, Ronaldo is the man who led Real Madrid to four Champions League titles in five years and became the most prolific goal scorer of all time across multiple top leagues, while Messi did the bulk of his work in Spain’s La Liga. Ronaldo’s physical dominance with his blend of speed and strength at 6’2″ is also something the short-statured Messi could never hope to match.
Messi finally got over the hump and won his first World Cup in 2022, whilst Ronaldo has never done better than Portugal’s fourth-place finish in 2006. However, it’s not hard to imagine the kind of success Ronaldo would have had if surrounded by comparable talent over the years.
Ronaldo is clearly the better footballer, and if he can turn back the clock and beat Father Time to win his first World Cup this year, the debate won’t even be arguable anymore.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.