Could Messi and Ronaldo meet at the World Cup?

Having won their opening two matches, Lionel Messi's Argentina have already secured qualification for the knockout stage as group winners.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal, meanwhile, remain on course for the Round of 32 after drawing with DR Congo before crushing Uzbekistan. The question now is could Messi and Ronaldo finally meet at a World Cup if both teams advance? And if so, at what stage?

Based on the tournament bracket as it currently stands, if Argentina and Portugal both finish as group winners, they could meet in the quarter-finals. If that happens, it would mark the first World Cup meeting between Messi and Ronaldo.

Argentina’s Round of 32 opponent would be the runners-up from Group H. At the moment, that position is occupied by Uruguay.

Portugal, however, are currently second in their group. To finish top, they must defeat Colombia in their final group match.

If Portugal do win the group, their likely Round of 32 opponent would come from the third-placed teams in Groups D, E, I, J or L. For a Messi-Ronaldo showdown to occur in the quarter-finals, both teams would first need to win their Round of 32 and Round of 16 matches.

Interestingly, had both Argentina and Portugal finished second in their respective groups, they could have met as early as the Round of 16.

What if Portugal finish as runners-up?

If Portugal advance as group runners-up, the picture changes significantly. In that scenario, even if both teams keep winning in the knockout rounds, they would not be able to face each other before the final.

Have Messi and Ronaldo ever faced each other in international football?

Yes, they have.

Messi and Ronaldo have played against each other twice at senior international level.

The first meeting came in a friendly in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2011. Argentina took the lead through Angel Di María before Ronaldo equalised after 20 minutes. In the 89th minute, Argentina won a penalty, and Messi converted it to secure a dramatic victory.

Three years later, in 2014, the two sides met again in another friendly, this time at Old Trafford, the former home of Ronaldo during his first spell with Manchester United.

Both Messi and Ronaldo started the match. Messi came close to scoring, while Ronaldo had relatively few clear opportunities. To the disappointment of the 40,000 spectators in attendance, both superstars were substituted at halftime.

Portugal eventually won the match thanks to a stoppage-time header from Rafael Guerreiro.

As a result, the international rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo currently stands at one win each.

What makes it even more remarkable is that Argentina and Portugal have met only those two times in their entire history.

Across all competitions, Messi and Ronaldo have faced each other 35 times. Messi's teams have won 16 matches, Ronaldo's teams have won 10 matches while 9 have ended in draws.

There is, however, one category in which the two icons remain perfectly level: each has scored 22 goals in those 35 encounters.

Are Messi and Ronaldo aware of all the speculation about the much-awaited World Cup face-off between them?

After Portugal's match against Uzbekistan, Ronaldo was asked about the possibility of meeting Messi later in the tournament.

The question appeared to irritate him slightly, but he responded in the manner of a seasoned professional. Although saying that there's not much point in that question right now, he eventually answered, “It would be great.”

And that much hardly needs saying. A World Cup clash between Messi and Ronaldo would be one of the most anticipated matches in football history.