Portugal’s 0-0 draw with Colombia on Saturday left Portugal second in Group K and prevented a projected quarterfinal meeting with Argentina and Lionel Messi, according to the report. Organizers had mapped a potential quarterfinal showdown between Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi if both Portugal and Argentina topped their groups.
Messi and Ronaldo have met 36 times in competitive matches over their careers, with Messi recording 16 wins and 22 goals to Ronaldo’s 11 wins and 21 goals, according to the report. Their most recent encounter came in January 2023, an exhibition between Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain and a Ronaldo-led Saudi Pro League all-star team.
Argentina secured first place in their group after Messi scored five goals as Argentina beat Algeria and Austria, cementing group-winner status before their final match against Jordan, according to the report. Argentina will meet Cape Verde in the round of 32.
Portugal’s draw with Colombia means the Portuguese side now faces Croatia in the round of 32 and could meet Spain in the round of 16, placing them on a different side of the knockout bracket than Argentina, according to the report. That leaves the only realistic way for Ronaldo and Messi to meet at this tournament as a clash in the final, assuming both nations progress through opposite halves of the bracket. The report also notes the pair now play on different continents and may not both be at the 2030 World Cup.
The report recalled several of the pair’s most memorable clashes, including Barcelona’s 2-0 win over Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League final, Barcelona’s 5-0 rout of Real Madrid in November 2010, Ronaldo’s 103rd-minute header in Real Madrid’s 1-0 Copa del Rey win in April 2011, Real’s 2-1 victory at Camp Nou in April 2012 marked by Ronaldo’s ‘calma’ gesture, and Real’s 3-1 Copa del Rey win at Camp Nou in February 2013 in which Ronaldo scored twice.
