The race between Messi and Ronaldo is far from over.
Photo: Reuters/AFP
Messi makes history at the age of 39.
The ball is rolling for the 2026 World Cup amidst the vibrant football festivities taking place in North America, witnessing star player Mbappe score a brace, Haaland find the net on his World Cup debut, while Lamine Yamal remains silent with Spain.
But things took a turn for the worse, and all the spotlight turned to Kansas City, Missouri (USA). Four years after his inspiring journey leading Argentina to victory in the 2022 World Cup, Messi caused a sensation with a stunning hat-trick against Algeria in the match that ended not long ago.
A goal from a run and a shot into the top corner from outside the penalty area, a tap-in after a Mac Allister shot, and another left-footed finish in the 76th minute to beat Luca Zidane - the son of legendary Zinedine Zidane - three times.
The whole world has to talk about Messi!!!
This achievement brings Messi's total career goals at the World Cup to 16, equaling the all-time record of Miroslav Klose (Germany), and also marks him as the youngest and oldest Argentinian player to score at the World Cup.
Messi is still looking to rewrite World Cup history.
Photo: AFP
Turning 39 next week, Messi capped off a historic night by becoming the first player to participate in six World Cups and the second to score in five World Cups. He would have made history if he had scored one more World Cup goal.
Who was the first player to score in five World Cups? That's Cristiano Ronaldo, the legend of Portugal and world football. "Anh Bay" (a nickname from Vietnamese fans) will play his opening match in his sixth World Cup at 10 AM on June 18th against Congo.
The first question that immediately popped into the minds of all football fans was: Messi has called, will Ronaldo answer? I'm hoping to get a "yes" from the football superstar who is approaching the milestone of 1,000 goals, has scored 28 goals for Al Nassr, the national league champions, and is leading the Portuguese scoring charts in the qualifiers with 5 goals.
Messi could set a new record if he scores more goals at the 2026 World Cup. At 41 years old, Ronaldo has already scored 8 goals across 5 World Cups. It would be very difficult for him to score at least 8 more goals in this World Cup to catch up with Messi, especially since the Argentinian number 10 still has the opportunity to increase his tally.
Ronaldo insists he is in excellent health and ready to score at the 2026 World Cup.
Photo: Reuters
But Ronaldo will also have a record of his own. Besides equaling Messi's record of 6 World Cup appearances, if he scores for Portugal in the next match, Ronaldo will become the first and only player to date to score in 6 consecutive World Cups.
If he achieves that, the record race between these two superstars will be temporarily balanced, with the question remaining whether Messi will be able to appear in the 2030 World Cup (meaning his 7th World Cup appearance), even score to improve his all-time scoring record, as well as break Roger Milla's record for the oldest player to score in a World Cup (42 years and 39 days).
Returning to the 2026 World Cup, Messi, with his hat-trick against Algeria, became the oldest player to achieve this feat at the World Cup at 38 years and 357 days old. Of course, this record will be broken if Ronaldo achieves the same feat, at 41 years and 133 days old.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/messi-da-goi-lieu-ronaldo-co-tra-loi-185260617133601703.htm
