Can Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo win the World Cup?

Can Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo win the World Cup?

It’s likely the last dance of the GOATs on the World Cup stage. Can Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo win the crown jewel of international football?

Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo could cap off a luminary career by lifting the World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

With over 1,600 goals and over 50 big titles for club and country between them, these two icons have brought the game of football to a different dimension:

Few players have ever been this good for this long.

The great debate that’s raged for over a decade now is who’s better: Messi or Ronaldo? The World Cup in Qatar could give the perfect piece of ammunition to either side of the argument.

Were the captain of Argentina or the captain of Portugal to lift the most coveted prize in world football, their star would shine even brighter in the constellation of the greats.

So who’s more likely to do it, Cristiano or Leo?

Can Leo Messi win the World Cup?

Olympic champion, Copa America champion, World Cup winner?

Leo Messi lifting the FIFA World Cup Trophy would be a crowning moment for the Argentine superstar, and with the form he and Argentina are in right now it’s very possible.

Argentina’s most-capped player and all-time leading goalscorer is set to participate in his fifth straight World Cup finals. He became the nation’s youngest star to play and score in a FIFA World Cup in 2006.

Messi was key to Argentina making the final in 2014 where they lost 0-1 to Germany, and after a disappointing 2018 World Cup, la albiceleste is back hoping to claim top honours.

Jorge Sampaoli was replaced by Lionel Scaloni as manager after the 2018 letdown and the new coach has found a formula that has re-nergised Argentina.

Messi and another Olympic champ – Angel Di Maria – spearheaded Argentina’s 2021 Copa America win – Leo’s fifth Copa final – and they won the 2022 Finalissima.

In fact, Argentina have not been beaten in over three years at the time of writing.

Can Cristiano Ronaldo win the World Cup?

Of course, it’s impossible to talk about Messi without Ronaldo.

Most generations of football fans get one era-defining player: Pele, Maradona, Johan Cruyff, George Best, Lothar Matthaus, Romario, Ronaldinho…

Planet football had seen otherworldly talents before, but never two who sustained their careers for this long at the same time, pushing each other to ever-greater heights the way Ronaldo and Messi have.

The Portuguese mega-star is aiming to cap off a cosmic career by lifting the World Cup and cementing his personal claim to being the greatest of all time.

Ronaldo was greatly responsible for Portuguese football’s greatest moment yet: The Euro 2016 victory – Portugal’s first ever major international title.

Now, CR7 wants to win the World Cup.