Topic: FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread - page 87. (Read 62801 times)

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.

Would you like to place a bet? 

I don't believe that if the two of them go to the World Cup in '26 they'll be starters and play the full 90 minutes
Even though they're both legends, their physique can't keep up anymore, and apart from their physique the two of them can contribute a lot to their national teams with the experience they have in international and important competitions, there's no shame to start in the bench, they will be 41 and 38 years old in 2026
If you put them in for 45 minutes, for example, they'll certainly be able to deliver a much better performance than 90 minutes

I also think the same as you, personally I have always seen that things with these players are always very controversial, with the case of CR7, he is a player who will always be the best in everything, but in Qatar the friend and coach He did not want to put him in the game, something that caused a lot of indignation in Portugal, until now the Portuguese has not forgiven the coach for that, now he is currently in the team and is doing a very good job, although there are one or another player who criticizes him a lot And that can bring internal problems, especially Cancelo because he is a player who has basically given some statements that were not well received, apart from Messi and Argentina, things have gone much better, because Messi is a fundamental piece for the team, so Given these things, we are people who will always take for granted that he will have no problems being in the World Cup. The thing about CR7 despite his great performance is still debatable, many think that because of his age he will not perform, but I have see this does not affect him, his training regime is very strong and sometimes he has more speed than a 20-year-old player.

If Messi and Ronaldo both play for their national teams in next World Cup then honestly I wouldn't expect any of them to be on the bench. Because we are talking about the bests of our generation. 

These players have even become legends before they retire. I don't think they would like the idea of waiting on the bench and hoping their team to win the matches. However it isn't even certain if both of these players will be in the World Cup.

I doubt Ronaldo more because of his age now. He is still enjoying his game in Saudi Arabia now but maybe in the near future he would announce his retirement who knows.

I also think that the best thing to do is to always stop playing at your peak, to avoid the risk of tarnishing your career with bad performances or playing for small clubs.

What it seems is that they are trying to monetize their career for as long as possible, and will continue until the next world cup, they are still playing very well, a little less than in the past, due to their age, of course... but will they? Will they maintain the level? We still have almost 2 years until the next World Cup

You know. People knew these players and as superstar players who can have perfect performance and help the teams to win any game. People expect to see these heroes in the good form all the time but sometimes when they get old they can't have good performances anymore and this is not good for them when people see these players in the bad form.
That's why I said before that the best thing these two players can do is to get retire before the 2026 World Cup and let the people always remember them as legends, instead of playing for their teams, they can start coaching the younger players in the 2026 world cup and help their teams like that.

The only negative point about Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi is the current league they play in, I don't know if they will be able to maintain all their technical capacity playing in a league a little lower than what they were used to playing in the big clubs in Europe...

I don't know if the leagues they are playing in are competitive enough to make them play their best

I think maybe you are right and we are going to see both players again playing for their teams in the 2025 World Cup but the fact about both of them is what we saw in the game between Slovenia and Portugal. Ronaldo tried to do his best but he is not young anymore and Messi has the same situation.
It doesn't matter if these players play in 2026 or not but the fact about both players is we can't expect to see good performance from any of these players anymore. Maybe even they will have a weaker performance after these two years.
The best thing for Portugal and Argentina is to start using these two players as coaches instead of letting them to play. 

Currently, Cristiano Ronaldo is 39 and Lionel Messi is 36 mean at the time of the next soccer world cup which is going to hold in the USA in 2026 both will be respectively at the age of 41 and 38 with this age they are still doing good job and having enough games and playing so most chances we will have this mega event last for the Ronaldo and about Messi nothing is clear because he is doing good job and his body is also allowing him for having more games in future so we can expect his presence in international games for the Argentina which could be good for them and their fans as well.

He is absolutely right, because the Brazilian team has very good players and as you say, they are recovering, the fact of having a good coach can mean a lot to a team, of course we are talking about Brazil where the player can at least score up to 3 goals in a match if the opponent is careless.

So given these things it can be said that Brazil will always be one of the teams that will attract the most attention worldwide for its style of play , for its history and for what it can give , for what it is Worth, we know that it has had a World Cup qualifying so far Has been very bad , but be careful, because when Brazil is on a roll it becomes a steamroller, any team can be surpassed by the team, even Argentina, and the Copa América is getting Closer and closer, on some TV channels. Television is already counting down, and the Eurocup is also approaching, this is going to be very good.