Argentina and Portugal: The Song of Ice and Fire
If a man wants to know what type of man stands in front of him, he will ask him about the burning issues in the world, such as; USA or China, Xbox or PlayStation, iPhone or Android, Jordan or Lebron. But above all of them would be one unsolvable and most debatable debate that has divided everyone for the last 20 years; Messi or Ronaldo?
The answer to this question was written in hundreds of articles, thousands of articles, and millions of words, and yet the debate is still going on, and every time you think that one of the players got the upper hand, it flips and turns over. Both players achieved every possible title in every league they played, broke numerous records over and over again in their respective teams, and played on any imaginable stage.
Therefore, their national performances have always been the tilt of the scales, because unlike football teams, in which you can get the best players around you, or get transferred to a better team, and thus be more successful, in national football, you play with whom the luck arranged you to be born with in the same country, and success is harder to come by.
Both Messi and Ronaldo were fortunate enough to be born in countries with abundant talent and strong national teams, of which they were the captains of and led them to glory. Ronaldo led Portugal to their first three major trophies in their history, including the Euros of 2016 and the Nations League in 2019 and 2025, with goals left and right and insane performances. Such performances include the couple of goals against Wales in the 2016 Euros semi-finals, and the infamous hat-trick against Spain in the 2018 World Cup.
He is also the top scorer of a national football team in history, scoring 128 goals so far. Messi on the other hand, led Argentina to its first international title since 1991, by winning the Copa Americas of 2021 and 2024, and the cherry on top was that he helped Argentina end the drought for its third World Cup in 2022. In a spectacular tournament in which he scored seven goals and assisted three, Messi won the player of the tournament, and with that, he “has shaken hands with paradise… The little boy from Rosario, Santa Fe, has just pitched up in heaven”.
Both Messi and Ronaldo were the answers for Argentina and Portugal’s problems when it came to the World Cup. Their respective national teams relied on them to deliver and lead the country to success, and their form would usually indicate how far they would go in a given tournament. But today, as both Messi and Ronaldo are getting towards the end of their career and are less reliable, maybe the 2026 WC will mark a new beginning for Argentina and Portugal, a new era without Messi or Ronaldo.
We still do not know if Messi and Ronaldo will be included in the final squads, but even if they were, neither of them will perform to the level we expected them over the years for obvious reasons: competition, age, form, etc. Therefore, the 2026 WC represents for both nations a symbolic transition from one generation of footballers to another, and believe me when I say that Argentina and Portugal have some of the brightest and most talented squads on Earth.
Argentina is known for its midfielders and attackers, and this year’s possible squad includes so many of them. Julian Alvarez, the boy who won everything and who had an amazing season with Atletico Madrid, will lead the front of the Argentinian Attack. Behind him one will find the likes of Nico Paz, the Como talisman that erupted this season in Serie A, and leads Como to one of its best seasons in history.
Alongside Paz in the midfield, another great potential is the young stars of Real Madrid and Manchester City, Franco Mastantuono and Claudio Echeverri. Both stars at their respective teams was slow, but they caught up as the season progressed and are central players as of now in the biggest clubs in the world. At the Argentinian wings, we can see a possible appearance of Alejandro Garnacho and Giuliano Simeone.
All of that massive attack will rely on a strong and experienced defensive foundation that consists of Cristian Romero, Nicolas Tagliafico, Lisandro Martinez and Nahuel Molina. Backing them up at the goalie’s position is the legendary Emi Martinez. The key to success in the 2026 WC would be their ability to use their depth, as they present a very deep squad, including the likes of Valentin Barco, Lautaro Martinez, Marcos Acuna, Enzo Fernandez, Rodrigo De Paul, and Alexis Mac Allister.
Very much like Argentina, Portugal has attacking cavalry that any nation would want to have. Upfront, PSG’s striker Goncalo Ramos. At the wings, the prolific left winger of AC Milan, Rafael Leao, and the rising winger of Chelsea, Pedro Neto. Completing that set will be Joao Felix, who is leading Al-Nassr to a great season, having scored himself too with 15 goals and 11 assists. At midfield, Portugal can use a variation of its two PSG midfielders, Joao Neves and Vitinha, combined with the Manchester captains Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes, all of whom are in great form, and leading their teams to a lot of success in recent years.
Closing the starting lineup, Portugal offers a strong, young and fast-paced defense, made of Nuno Mendes, one of the best left-backs in the world, combined with Ruben Dias’s leadership and Goncalo Inacio’s talent, and the energy of Joao Cancelo on the right side will scare any attack in the tournament. In case a ball passes this defense, one will find Diogo Costa at the goal line, and that would be an even harder task to go past him.
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As you can see, I did neither include Ronaldo nor Messi in the opening squads of Portugal and Argentina, and yet no one would want to face either nation at any point in the tournament, because they are both that good, versatile, deep and strong, offering very balanced and entertaining football on both sides of the field.
We still do not know if Ronaldo or Messi will participate in the 2026 WC, but it seems inevitable that they will play in their sixth championships. Their faith, like the song of Ice and Fire story, will collide with two unnatural forces that will have to face each other, if faith is kind in the Quarter Finals, for one last clash that might define both players’ legacy.
Messi climbed the Olympus in 2022, but like a good chorus, he would want to repeat that achievement. Ronaldo is still hungry for one more title, the one he still has not touched, and like new sounds, that you have never heard, he wants to be part of an achievement that no one saw. The Ice of Argentina against the Fire of Portugal. Would the two part away from Football as equals, and leave the debate unsolvable forever?
By: Ronen Bangiev
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Ash Donelon – Man United / Aurelien Meunier – PSG