Argentina’s thrilling 3-2 comeback win against Egypt on Tuesday in their Round of 16 matchup at the FIFA World Cup 2026 allowed Lionel Messi to leave pretty much no room for debate in the GOAT conversation.
One of the subplots of this year’s tourney was the showdown between Messi and Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. The conversation revolved around who would, once and for all, settle this generation’s GOAT debate.
After Spain sent Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal packing on Monday, it was up to the Argentine international to take his claim one step further.
And for about 80 minutes or so, it looked like the defending World Cup champions were getting ready to pack it in. Mostafa Ziko’s goal in the 67th minute put Argentina in an impossible position. Down 2-0 with about 20 minutes to go painted a tough picture for Messi and company.
After the South American side got on the board in the 79th minute, Messi delivered four minutes later, tying the game. It was another example of Messi coming up big in big games.
As European Football expert Kevin Hatchard noted, the Inter Miami star has carried the team on his back all tournament long.
“Messi as a real leader, dragging that Argentina team forward and just adding the finishing touches.”
Talk about finishing touches. As Hatchard and former England international Matthew Upson discussed in a recent conversation published by WhoScored, the Argentine megastar has a firm grasp on the GOAT debate thanks to his heroics.
“I’ve always edged towards Messi because there’s just something about the way that he plays the game that I just – I just admire constantly. And it’s just in his body language, it’s in his reactions, it’s in how he deals when things don’t go well,” Upson affirmed.
Indeed, things were not going well for Argentina. And it was Messi who helped his club rally and claw its way into the quarterfinal.
Messi and Ronaldo have different styles
One of the key elements in this entire GOAT debate is the different styles that both stars show on the pitch. While the results speak for themselves, as Hatchard noted, it’s the styles that paint a completely different picture.
“I always think you look at Messi and the natural talent he has and that incredible technique, the vision. With Ronaldo, I think it is about him absolutely maximizing everything he can physically. There’s such a physicality and a power about what Ronaldo does.”
Ronaldo is a prototypical striker who capitalizes on stretch passes and opportunities in the box. But as Messi has consistently shown, he can create opportunities seemingly out of nothing. His game-tying goal against Egypt came on a broken play, and, well, he just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
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GOAT Debate Should Be Over By Now
Regardless of whether Messi and Argentina can become back-to-back champions, it’s pretty clear who the GOAT of this generation is.
Unless Cristiano Ronaldo can come back in four years and lead Portugal to glory, Messi has something that should settle the debate: A Jules Rimet trophy. For all football legends, winning a World Cup is what defines their legacy.
Like Diego Maradona before him, Messi’s victory in Qatar 2022 has cemented his place among the pantheon of football’s all-time greats.
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