When Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi could face off at the 2026 World Cup

Every football fan would love to watch Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo play against each other at the 2026 World Cup.

Messi and Ronaldo have shared the greatest rivalry in football history, as many consider them the two greatest players ever.

Especially during their time at Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively, they competed for the top individual and team awards.

Messi and Ronaldo have shared the pitch 36 times in total, with the Argentine winning 16, Ronaldo 11, and nine draws.

However, Argentina and Portugal have not met in a World Cup match since they both started playing for their national teams.

Here is the only scenario in which Messi and Ronaldo can have one last battle at the 2026 World Cup.

Argentina finished top of Group J on nine points by winning all three matches against Austria, Algeria, and Jordan.

Meanwhile, Portugal finished second in Group K after drawing with DR Congo and Colombia, while beating Uzbekistan.

Portugal needed to beat Colombia to win the group and have an easier route to the final, but they were held to a 0-0 draw.

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If they had won the group, Portugal would have played Ghana in the round of 32 and either Switzerland or Algeria in the round of 16.

This could have set up a blockbuster quarter-final clash with Messi’s Argentina at the Kansas City Stadium.

Instead, as they finished second in Group K, Portugal are on the opposite half of the knockout bracket.

They now have a brutal path to the final, which is likely to include Croatia, Spain, the United States, and France.

Therefore, Messi and Ronaldo can only meet in the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium on July 19 or in the third-place play-off.