Topic: FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread - page 6. (Read 44997 times)

Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are great players that in the history of football their names can never be forgotten. It is hard to imagine if their would be good players as good as these players.  Already will have talented players like Haaland,  Mbappe,  and others but these players can never be compared to Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. For me I think Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel remains the best players in the history of football.  It will be so great in the future if will be a player that can match the energy of these players. I haven't still found any players that is close to Ronaldo and Messi in performance.

Some players can never have alternative options at the same level as that player. For example in Brazil we saw a player like Pele or many other superstar players but even after young players like Neymar could never have the same good performance as the other players we saw. I think we should not start seeking for a player at exactly the same level but we should give some chance to the younger players and hope to see better performance from them just like what we saw about Messi in Argentina.
But currently Argentina and Portugal both prefer to keep having their players Ronaldo and Messi for a longer time and they can even use these players in the 2026 World Cup.

Career and fitness like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are surely never been easy specially now while we are having new generation players which are having good quality but fitness and quality are not like these legendary players are going to be achieved many records and other things but now having name like them is surely not easy while we have few top players in past which also done historical things but still have nothing like these because they were really on good time and done impressive things which are not easy.
In near future we will have no competitiveness like we have in current era with money is going to be more important for the players instead of having fitness and quality which is also the best thing, hopefully we will have good and positive rivalry between Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominated world football for almost two decades and for them to achieve such feat, you don't expect them to be easily forgotten or outshined by the younger players that are doing exceptionally well at the moment like Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. Kylian Mbappe is currently 25 years of age while Erling Haaland is two years younger than Mbappe which means that they're currently in their prime but the truth of the whole matter is they're still in competition with Cristiano Ronaldo despite his current age of 39. Last year, Cristiano Ronaldo finished the year as the highest goal scorer in world football and currently this season, Cristiano Ronaldo have scored more goals than Erling Haaland.
We might not get to watch Lionel Messi play in the next edition of the FIFA World Cup but if Cristiano Ronaldo keeps performing like he's doing at the moment and stays fit, he's very likely to feature in the next edition of the FIFA World Cup

You are right, in fact one of the things I admire most about CR7 is his determination for things, he is a person who achieves what he sets his mind to , he is also a very Compassionate person and will do anything to be able to be Well, he is focused on his goal, that's why when we don't stop thinking about Portual, in Argentina, each one has his legend, the Argentine Legend has already achieved it, he already has his trophy, his World Cup, CR7 only needs the World Cup, If they put him in the games, I'm sure he will give more than 100% to his team, but I dare say that the Portuguese players don't help him, they think of themselves, they are envious. in them, so that a team cannot prosper, can you imagine jealousy that Garnacho has MESSI? Or that Dibu is Evious of Messi? Obviously it is not good at all , for me if they are looking for replacements, I hope it is for the most toxic players in Portugal, I am sure that if it were in the era of Figo, Nuno Gómez, Deco, CR7 they would have him as top scorer Where everyone would play so that He is in charge of scoring the goals, but no, in Portugal I have Unfortunately seen that the players want to shine only by their own light and not by the team.

Sports keep new producing players so no player is irreplaceable. Ronaldo has contributed to the development of the Portuguese national team but there should be a time for him to say goodbye to active football and consider mentorship or a coaching career. For me, Ronaldo doesn't have much to contribute to the national teams in the next World Cup on the pitch because of his age and the quality of the Saudi Arabia league. But he could be a motivation to the young players because of his influence and experience. It would be wrong to forcefully close the door of the Portuguese national team to Ronaldo because of his legendary status, he should be allowed to retire voluntarily, and after the next World Cup would be the ideal time. If Motherluck favors Portugal and gives them the trophy, he would enter the same class as Lionel Messi.

Have many youth talent players and most of them success break out the record goals from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo I think easily find the replacement both of them. Erling Haaland dominance as UEFA Champion League top scorer and last season success got treble winner with Manchester City, left opportunity with Erling Haaland if can win FIFA World Cup with his national team will be higher level than Lionel Messi achievement such as Haaland still on the young age.
Just take opportunity with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo become more interested how both fans reaction, most of them still believing with higher level performance although Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi playing with team under level such as top European team right now. I believe in the next World Cup many top players will break Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo record.

At this point they can't do that, replacing CR7 is as if in Argentina they were looking to replace Messi, so I think they don't make sense, is there going to be a search for a great player to replace him? where is the material? In my opinion there is no one who is as important, even if he is 40 years old, CR7 performs much more than a 26-year-old player like Cancelo, that is why the last time CR7 was not allowed to play in the World Cup in Qatar, what happened to him? to the Technician? He got into a tremendous mess, Figo and all the Portuguese attacked the coach strongly at that moment, you cannot have a legend on the bench, or if you have the national team in charge you would leave Messi on the bench just because you are not 30 years old ? Is he old or does he not act? No, he is a guy who at any moment makes a play and scores a goal and also wins games, CR7 is also important, and who are they going to put him in for? Bruno? Cancel? They are players who for me are already exhausted, they can't do much, they don't have the trajectory of CR7, they lack a lot.

Replacement is never been easy and if you have players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi then surely it needs more time while we are having these both players at his best in coming world cup this could be another historic moment for the soccer fans around the world Portugal which is looking for their first ever big success completely fail to bring good development into their soccer system which was expected few years back, but sadly things are never been ideal for them to have good players into their team.

In last few years we have no well noticed players which we can call suitable replacement for these legendary players those are doing their best for years and still we have few good years to watch their game and enjoy this all for few more years.

replacing ronaldo is not an easy task, since many years ago portugal never had a player like ronaldo, they had good players like eusebio, deco, luiz figo, but all these good Portuguese players did not even reach 50% of the level of Ronaldo has been doing this since 30 years ago, so it wouldn't be now that they would find a player like Ronaldo, to get an idea of what I'm talking about, in this article they talk about the 10 best Portuguese players of all time, look at the list of the 10 best Portuguese players of all time. Everytime:

https://www.givemesport.com/best-portugal-players-in-football-history/

Ronaldo scored 128 in Portugal, this is counting the games he played for the Portuguese national team, so look how many goals the remaining players on this list scored, you will see 9 players on this list didn't even reach 50 goals, just Ronaldo alone managed to score goals that even if you add the number of goals scored by 7 players on this list, it still doesn't surpass the number of goals scored by ronaldo. So Portugal won't have another Ronaldo, maybe in 10 or 50 years another Ronaldo or another Messi will emerge. This generation of players is very weak. In the past we had Ronaldinho, a true football genius, we also had Brazilian player Ronaldo, we had Zidane, they were players who, when the team was doing poorly, could solve the game.

but nowadays you can no longer find players at the same level as ronaldo and messi and the good players of the past, this is a reality, when messi and ronaldo retire, then we will wait for one day, many years from now, good players at their level will emerge , this would take many years. I don't believe that in Argentina there will be another player at Messi's level so soon. It's even strange that 20 years ago the level of good players was high to the point that current players can't surpass those players from 20 years ago. Football nowadays is very linked to marketing and money, so it's unlikely we'll see another messi or another ronaldo

It's true, well personally for me there are still no players with the quality of CR7 and Messi, for me those two players are the best, of course, there are Haaland and Mbappé who are the most outstanding players in the world, but I think they don't reach the quality of these, I don't know if they are my ideas or I am setting the standard or the bar very high, but for me these two players will always make a difference and that is something that is noticeable, for me these things are like that, although Messi and CR7 are a little older, for me they are still much better than the current players, apart from everything in Portugal itself there is envy among the players of the Portuguese national team. Cancelo's statements did not go down well with anyone, so these types of players They don't have much to talk about if they haven't had a similar or better career than him, in Argentina all the players respect Messi and defend him, I think the difference is very noticeable there, in the World Cup if I want those two to be there and hopefully the match between Argentina and Portugal takes place.

They can't find a replacement because they won't want to find a replacement and they still think about respecting Ronaldo because he is a great player for his team while that's wrong and they should start seeking.
In fact, they can't find any player because they already have Ronaldo on the team, I think the best thing he can do is to get retire and that's how he can force Portugal to find an alternative player because then they will understand they can't use Ronaldo anymore and they have to find another player instead of him.

I think the biggest reason why Portugal will probably have to play Cristiano Ronaldo is because they have not found a good replacement. If they actually had found a good replacement, there was no reason for them to play an old player like him in the main squad. And just because he is old does not mean he's obsolete. Even at this age, he is scoring a lot of goals without much trouble. I mean he might not start a few matches. But he is not going to be a regular bench warmer.

I am actually not sure about Lionel Messi. Will he be even interested to give his 100% in the next World Cup?
I don't know. But I believe if Messi actually wants to play the World Cup, he is going to give his 100%. And he is definitely not going to be on the bench too much of the time. After all, he was the hero for Argentina in the last World Cup.

But I guess we all know that these two do not have as much of an impact on the whole world as they had previously. So it is probably going to be Argentina versus Portugal even if it happens, it is not just going to be Messi versus Ronaldo.

It is true when you say that one player cannot save a whole team, but the presence of that player can only influence more luck and more opportunities for the team. Also, if that player is a celebrity player, that is, a star player, it can also boost the morale of the whole club or the team in the pitch. So, that is the kind of motivation that Portugal will be needing from Cristiano Ronaldo in the next World Cup.

At the same time, I feel like Cristiano Ronaldo is one star in a million in Portugal. Unlike national teams like Brazil, Argentina, and others who have a couple of players that are performing extremely well and could form a tough first 11, we don't see that in Portugal. Therefore, there has always been Cristiano Ronaldo and others until the coming of Joao Felix and Pepe, who have also been doing their own best, in the midfield and the defense.

The Portugal national team manager has a lot of work to do by getting in more talented players that can make up a tough full squad ahead of the 2026 Football World Cup. Else, Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix and Pepe wouldn't be enough to bring a trophy home for Portugal. And unlike before that Cristiano Ronaldo was much more in form and could deliver miraculously, that is not the case any longer as the player is now old and can only serve as a morale booster.

There is every likelihood that the next Football World Cup would be the last national appearance he will participate as a player, maybe as a coach subsequently. But I feel that would be the last he would play in his professional career on the national team.

The thing that an athlete cannot defeat is age, no matter how disciplined an athlete is, age will make them start to slow down in running and start experiencing other things that they didn't feel when they were young because they can always maintain their stamina, but stopping when their career can still be said to be good is quite difficult, isn't it? not only for football players but it also happens in other types of sports when they are still able to play even though the number of matches is starting to decrease then it will still make them confident in continuing their career, and for footballers they will stop even though they are still enthusiastic about playing is when there are no more clubs available want it, but as long as they are still under contract, even if only as a reserve and they are not injured, they will still choose to play unless they are already planning to retire because there are other things they want to pursue.
For players who are old but are still called up by the national team, they can be not only as players but as figures who can provide more energy to young players in the future, and a decline in the quality of their game is very likely to occur and it is certain that they will only get a small share of playing in the next world cup.

I hope they can make a good showing in the next cup, of course, if they play in the tournament.

But I've seen reports from veteran players, that even though they may be in good physical shape, their body can't keep up with their thinking, so the player imagines some play or movement that their body can't execute... that's one of the reasons that they retire or begin to decline in the sport.

All possibilities are available for them in coming event with having contribution for their teams and also keeping things at the top they will manage this all with their coaches even I believe they will be contributed partially but still we can have them for more as well because they are impact players and things can take good changes with their performance.
We have history of many players those give their best at the 40+ because they have body and their game at the top and currently same going with these two both are having good performance and body is also at his best which giving them good support at this age.

The age difference for a player at his peak is very big... For example, how can you play on equal terms with a 20, 25 year old player? It's very difficult for veterans... As the World Cup is a short tournament, maybe with special preparation Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will still be able to show good football.

Normally these ages are such which some persons get to and would think of retirement in active foot ball and I don't think it's a bad one because at such age it's very definite that your efficiency would drop regardless of how much you try to train and make it look like it's not affecting the player but then it shows at some point because age isn't something we could just battle just with thinking it doesn't matter.

It's very true both players may still be able to play for their various countries especially if been called and they are still actively playing football and nothing is wrong I'd they choose to accept of turndown the call too but then what may not be proper would be keeping high expectations on these players as they are not going to be so efficient as we would want them to be as age is now a factor playing out on them, they may even not be able to play a complete game at that time and I think they wouldn't be playing all the matchs like they did in the last world cup.

Messi literally doesn't have anything to loose if he turns out not to win the world cup again moreover he's got one to his name already so it's more like he's actually got nothing to really fight for rather than just trying to help his country at this point try to defend a trophy they just got most recently but this doesn't mean he wouldn't be giving his best, he definitely will give his best to make sure the game comes is played well.

There is a big "if" and if these two players play in the 2026 World Cup we can't expect to see any of them having good performance and even they will have worse performances than we can see from them. It seems Ronaldo is still in the good shape and he can have a good performance for his team in the Saudi League but you just saw recently he played for Portugal and he couldn't make his team win the match.
But Messi is even in the worst situation in Inter Miami however he usually has good performances whenever he plays for Argentina just like we saw from him in the last World Cup when he won the trophy.
I guess the chance for Messi to be in the World Cup is a little but higher than Ronaldo for Portugal.