Cr150

[KingLeo10]

Eusebio stats are mad considering he only played 1 WC.

Gerd Muller also put up 10 goals in the 1970 WC campaign

The best players back then straight up balled out at the WC. Which is why it's so good to see Messi do it too. He has an AMAZING club record and a good international record, but was missing the lights out performance in the WC until this one (he was good but not great for his lofty standards in the 2014 WC overall).

CR7's WC record in KOs is just pitiful.

 

[malvolio]

Burned all bridges thinking he?ll win the World Cup and retire to prove everyone wrong and instead went out sad after exposing himself with a hall of shame tournament. Biggest L ever.

Tbf majority of people(me included) have forgot how they qualified. Portugal barely got to the WC, don't know what made us think they will win it.

They played both qualification playoff games at home, turkey missed, Italy eliminated and Portugal played vs North Macedonia in the last game.

 

[Horatio]

Portugal barely got to the WC, don't know what made us think they will win it.

It was the assembly of the squad. On paper it's a great one. Easy to understand why people could believe they'd win it.

This is all aftertiming.

 

[Sailor Mars]

It's not like Messi's WC knockout stats were that much better. Until this WC where Messi clearly stepped up and pulled ahead, his WC stats were pretty abysmal for someone of his stature.

True. Messi and Ronaldo did not have great WC stats compared to many other legends of the past and they both have not put up a legendary WC run (Messi might this year if he puts on a good performance to get past Croatia).

That being said, until this 2022 and the 2018 World Cup with Modric and possibly Mbappe, many of Ronaldo's and Messi's peers have not put up more than 1 good WC campaign. So yes, Messi and Ronaldo have had pedestrian stats, but other top players during their time haven't dominated at the WC either.

 

[Rory]

Where’s Fati? You ok hun?

 

[KingLeo10]

Where’s Fati? You ok hun?

"Into the semis" - his famous last words before the Morocco game

 

[Rory]

"Into the semis" - his famous last words before the Morocco game

Fantastic

 

[Windhook]

Fati will be back. It's grievance period for CR7 and Portugal fans. It's normal their prayers are Messi not to win the WC. And the trending these days "Let's respect them both". When CR7 won all the CL trophies w/ Madrid nowhere I saw those "respect both" calls.

 

[Horatio]

Fati will be back. It's grievance period for CR7 and Portugal fans. It's normal their prayers are Messi not to win the WC. And the trending these days "Let's respect them both". When CR7 won all the CL trophies w/ Madrid nowhere I saw those "respect both" calls.

Haha I commented something similar on a Dutch site yesterday. Instead of Cr7 fanboys conceding they lost the GOAT debate it’s turned “both had a tremendous career” since a while already.
Even tempt has turned humble by saying he actually always liked Messi but it were the fanboys.
Also, the “Messi is a poor leader” has gone on hiatus since a year or so. Watch it come back in full force if Argentina fails to win it.

 

[cracken]

Haha I commented something similar on a Dutch site yesterday. Instead of Cr7 fanboys conceding they lost the GOAT debate it’s now “both had a tremendous career”.
Even tempt has turned humble by saying he actually always liked Messi but it were the fanboys.
Also, the “Messi is a poor leader” has gone on hiatus for now. Watch it come back in full force if Argentina fails to win it.

It's as if fanboys are extremely biased or something

Conversely, Messi fans are shitting on CR7 using some of the same talking points that other people have used to shit on both CR and Messi. Mainly the lack of goals and assists in the WC knockout stages. Messi fans used to adamantly dismiss this argument right up until Messi had his first true great KO stage contribution in 2022 lol

 

[DonAK]

Messi still had been better in the WC KO stages than Ronaldo and most importantly haven't gone out in the group stages by ending behind USA

 

[JamDav1982]

It's as if fanboys are extremely biased or something

Conversely, Messi fans are shitting on CR7 using some of the same talking points that other people have used to shit on both CR and Messi. Mainly the lack of goals and assists in the WC knockout stages. Messi fans used to adamantly dismiss this argument right up until Messi had his first true great KO stage contribution in 2022 lol

That is not true.

In reality only Messi has ever had the 'must win WC to be the GOAT'.. rarely every brought up for Ronaldo for some reason.

Even before this WC Messi had won a Golden Ball as best players and had assisted in knockout stages in each of last three WCs... two assists v France in last one.

Ronaldo? Nothing. Cant get past last 16 since 2006 as a starter and not a single goal/assist/MOTM in ko game in sight.

There is a massive difference between the two and was before this WC also in terms of achievemtns in ko stages.

 

[KingLeo10]

It's as if fanboys are extremely biased or something

Conversely, Messi fans are shitting on CR7 using some of the same talking points that other people have used to shit on both CR and Messi. Mainly the lack of goals and assists in the WC knockout stages. Messi fans used to adamantly dismiss this argument right up until Messi had his first true great KO stage contribution in 2022 lol

Messi still had 4 or so assists in KO stages (has the most all time now I believe). So, while he wasn't Messi standard for Argentina before, he was still comfortably better than Mr. 0 + 0

 

[Windhook]

Also, the ?Messi is a poor leader? has gone on hiatus since a year or so. Watch it come back in full force if Argentina fails to win it.

Haha, good one. Had not thought about that "poor leader" theory for a while, since it crumbled last year during Copa America. Messi plays along much younger players around him now, who worship him BTW.

Even their chant that's sang in the locker room and by fans in the stands includes Messi in the lyrics:

 

[Windhook]

It's as if fanboys are extremely biased or something

Conversely, Messi fans are shitting on CR7 using some of the same talking points that other people have used to shit on both CR and Messi. Mainly the lack of goals and assists in the WC knockout stages. Messi fans used to adamantly dismiss this argument right up until Messi had his first true great KO stage contribution in 2022 lol

First true contribution in 2022 lol?

Go check statistics from knockout stages. Anyway Messi in my view has never been about statistics. Karl Malone has more points than Michael Jordan. Who's the GOAT?