Cristiano Ronaldo ‘owned’ Lionel Messi, but both Portugal and Argentina tied their first World Cup game

After Argentina tied Iceland on Saturday in the third day of 2018 World Cup action, and Lionel Messi missed a penalty kick in the match, the huge narrative was that Cristiano Ronaldo — who had a hat trick against Spain — completely owned Messi.

He had won. Ronaldo had finally done it. He had conquered the player he was most often compared to.

Look, it’s right here:

Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t play Messi, of course. He was in a different city playing against a different opponent and he did it a day earlier.

And also, well, Ronaldo didn’t win. He might have outplayed Messi in the first game, but his team tied Spain. Portugal currently have one point in group play, with a goal differential of zero. Argentina currently have one point in group play, with a goal differential of zero.

Yes, Ronaldo did it against Spain. Messi did it against tiny Iceland. Ronaldo outplayed Messi, I guess, in his game. Which, again, was a different game played on a different day.

(I’d argue Messi didn’t play poorly — the entire offense ran through him, Iceland built its entire defense to defend him, and he still made an all-time pass that earned his team a penalty. He probably shouldn’t have taken that penalty, as he had Sergio Aguero there who’s very good at them, but it’s not like Messi was dogshit out there. Did you see all the times he dribbled those dudes? And, again, that was with an Iceland team that was constructed to not let him beat them. And he still nearly beat them!)

Also, Iceland has done this exact same thing before ... to Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portugal will probably advance, and I’d argue that, despite being in a tougher group, Argentina will still likely advance. But let’s not pretend Portugal is through clear and easy here — the Morocco midfield looked fantastic in the first game, and Iran will defend as a unit and try to keep the ball away from Ronaldo, much like Iceland did against Messi. We’ll see how he reacts to that.

Messi has more of an uphill climb, A) because the Argentina defense stinks and B) he has to play Croatia and Nigeria, who are better than Morocco and Iran, probably. But I still like his chances.

I’m just saying, let’s not put a nail in this coffin yet or anything. Ronaldo had some wonderful moments in a huge performance. Messi missed a penalty. They’re both incredibly good at soccer, the two best players of this generation, and I love watching both of them play. I will tell my grandchildren about the time I saw them play. But they’re in the exact same spot after one game in this World Cup.

The one thing I will say: Cristiano Ronaldo is better at taking penalties than Lionel Messi right now. I feel confident saying that.