It isnt and he doesnt goal hang it is all about clever movement and he kills teams if they sit deep or if they play a high line.
Even then the last Real game he was their most creative player. Still has elements of that to his game.
Messi couldnt play that role as wouldnt same threat as Ronaldo from balls into the box or the threat powering in behind defences if they leave space.
Just as Ronaldo cant do the things Messi does.
Messi had chances vs Peru anyway and didnt score.
He would be far less impacting on the game if tried to play like Ronaldo. He played like Messi v Peru and played well.
Thing is even if teams sit deep, Ronaldo has a far superior height advantage that Messi doesnt have. Players can cross in and defenders will panic, causing a helter-skelter. Defence will stretch as they want to prevent them from crossing. In Argentina, the aerial threat is almost non-existent. Teams can afford to sit back and play compact, and not worry about crosses. Benedetto is seriously nothing but a piece of wood. Same goes with Icardi.
Unless they can play like Barcelona, which they dont, I dont see how any defensive teams will struggle against them. They cant even make a single pull back to Messi, or simply square it to a player in better position. They simply shoot at a very tight angle which keeper has no problem saving.
Sure Messi had chances, but simply put, Peru defence didnt had to do much to stifle much of their not so dangerous chances. Messi's attempt was ultimately intervened right on time with at least 3 players lunging in for the ball. Does this mean Messi is to blame? No. Argentina's attacking options were simply too limited.
Messi is ultimately a false nine, his lack of prominent movement off the ball is to make him difficult to track by defenders, at the same time conserve those energy for the burst of speeds. He still drops deep to collect the ball very often, for me that's his physical capacity and as much as he could do to bring out his best in each match. Ronaldo is more of a simple traditional 9/center forward role. Of course he doesnt just sit in the box. No player sits in the box for 90 mins. It just means both are entirely different playstyle, I dont get why one is SO highly praised and the other shat on, just because things are simply working well in one at the moment and not the other.
Does that mean Ronaldo has a far better game than Messi? Not necessarily. Ronaldo has players that are complementary to his style of play while Messi's are ineffective and somewhat contradictory. Ronaldo's is more simplified, and definitely easier to adapt, adheres to a fluid counter attacking style. If circumstances were made right for Messi, could Ronaldo's and Portugal be much superior than Argentina and Messi. Very hard to say. Portugal might be completely dominated left right and center, and Ronaldo cant do much. Against strong teams like Spain and Germany, Portugal might not be able to handle. In short, Ronaldo's style is a much safer and simplified approach, but generally will falter especially against strong technical teams if they dont capitalise their chances. Messi's style is far more complex, but if teammates can complement each other, it will be far more devastating. Messi can be a complete beast like he is in Barca and is likely to be far more superior than Ronaldo in many aspects.
Central players with similar playstyle like Aguero suffers as well, always a shadow of himself in Argentina. Does that mean he is an average player? No. Things simply didnt click together in Argentina.
