FiFA world Cup: Argentina make life easier for Lionel Messi. Portugal make it harder for Cristiano Ronaldo

There is a scene that keeps repeating itself whenever Argentina play.

Rodrigo De Paul wins the ball. Alexis Mac Allister offers an angle. Enzo Fernandez moves possession forward. Julian Alvarez starts running. Lautaro Martinez drags defenders away. Somewhere in the middle of all that movement, the ball eventually finds Lionel Messi.

Some will call it predictable. Argentina would probably call it common sense.

After all, if you have Lionel Messi in your team, why would you spend 90 minutes looking for anyone else?

The numbers from this World Cup tell their own story. Argentina have scored five goals in two matches. Messi has scored all five. He opened the tournament with the first World Cup hat-trick of his career against Algeria and followed it with a record-breaking brace against Austria. At 39 years old, he sits alone atop the World Cup scoring charts with 18 goals and has become only the third player in history to score in six consecutive World Cup matches.

Yet the most interesting thing about Argentina is not Messi’s brilliance. We have known about that for two decades.

What stands out is how comfortable everyone else seems with their role in the story.

Nobody appears threatened by Messi’s importance. Nobody seems eager to prove they can do it themselves. The entire structure of this Argentina side appears built around a simple idea: get the ball to the best player and let him decide the match.

That is where the comparison with Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal becomes fascinating.

Because while Argentina have spent years figuring out how to make life easier for Messi, Portugal still seem caught in an endless conversation about how best to use Ronaldo.

The contrast is not really about talent. It is not even about age. It is about clarity. Argentina know exactly who they are when Messi is on the pitch. Portugal are still searching for that certainty with Ronaldo.

ARGENTINA KNOW THE ASSIGNMENT

The smartest thing Lionel Scaloni ever did was stop asking Messi to be Superman.

There was a period when Argentina expected him to do everything. Score the goals. Create the chances. Drop into midfield. Rescue the team whenever things became difficult.

Now they ask him to do one thing. Decide matches. The rest of the squad handles everything else.

De Paul chases lost causes as though they personally offended him. Mac Allister covers huge distances. Enzo Fernandez dictates tempo. Alvarez presses with endless energy. Lautaro Martinez spends much of his evening making defenders uncomfortable.

Together they have created the perfect environment for Messi.

The tactical side of it is obvious. Argentina’s midfielders do much of the running and defensive work, allowing Messi to save his energy for moments that actually decide games. But the emotional side might be even more important.

This team genuinely seems invested in Messi’s success.

De Paul once said he would “go to war” for his captain. Emiliano Martinez spoke about wanting to “die” for Messi if it meant helping him achieve everything the game had to offer.

Those comments are striking enough on their own, but they are hardly isolated examples. Julian Alvarez has openly spoken about growing up idolising Messi and described sharing a dressing room with him as something he could barely have imagined as a child. Enzo Fernandez once admitted that while Argentina always play for their country, there was an added motivation in seeing their captain finally achieve everything his career deserved.

In another dressing room those comments might sound excessive.

In this Argentina team, they feel completely normal.

The Austria game offered perhaps the best example of why the formula works. For long stretches at the AT&T Stadium, Austria made life uncomfortable for the world champions. Ralf Rangnick’s side enjoyed plenty of possession, disrupted Argentina’s rhythm and prevented Scaloni’s men from controlling the game the way they had against Algeria.

Yet when the game ended, both coaches found themselves arriving at almost exactly the same conclusion.

“This is Lionel Messi. He doesn’t need many situations to decide a match,” Rangnick admitted afterwards.

Scaloni’s assessment was equally revealing.

“When Leo gets activated, everyone gets activated.”

That was essentially the story of the afternoon.

Austria could enjoy possession. Austria could frustrate Argentina. Messi could even drag a penalty wide when history appeared to be waiting for him from 12 yards.

None of it really mattered.

Eventually the ball reached him in the right area and he did what he has spent the last twenty years doing. One goal became two. A difficult afternoon became another Argentina victory.

Scaloni’s comments after the game perhaps revealed even more about why this version of Argentina works so well. The coach praised Messi’s commitment during the tougher phases of the match, highlighting how his captain continued tracking back, competing and helping the team through periods without possession.

That balance is what makes this Argentina side so dangerous.

The players work for Messi, but Messi works for them too.

PORTUGAL’S RONALDO PUZZLE

Portugal’s situation feels considerably more complicated. The funny thing is they might actually possess more attacking talent than Argentina.

Bruno Fernandes is one of the finest creators in Europe. Bernardo Silva remains among the smartest midfielders in the game. Rafael Leao can destroy defenders in transition. Vitinha and Joao Neves offer control and creativity. On paper, this should be a side capable of overwhelming opponents.

Yet Portugal often look less certain about themselves than Argentina.

Their 1-1 draw against DR Congo summed up the dilemma.

Ronaldo finished the game with just 29 touches and failed to register a shot on target. The criticism arrived immediately. At this point, it almost arrives before the final whistle.

The debate quickly centred on whether Portugal are becoming a better team without Ronaldo.

The problem with that discussion is that it ignores what happened around him.

Portugal’s midfield struggled to consistently create chances. Bruno Fernandes, arguably the team’s most important creative player, endured one of his quieter performances in recent memory. Possession was plentiful, but clear opportunities were scarce.

Ronaldo certainly did not play well.

Neither did many of the players responsible for supplying him.

Ronaldo himself was quick to defend the team’s performance afterwards.

“Nothing was lacking. That’s football,” he said. “Portugal could have won, but they could also have lost.”

It was a typically measured response from a player who has spent most of his career operating under a microscope. Yet the reaction around Portugal suggested that many observers remain unsure whether the team is helping Ronaldo enough or whether Ronaldo is helping the team enough.

That uncertainty was amplified by Thierry Henry’s analysis after the game. The Frenchman criticised Ronaldo’s positioning during one second-half attack, arguing that the veteran forward was too focused on getting himself on the scoresheet rather than helping create the clearest chance for the team.

“The team needs to score, not you need to score,” Henry said.

The former Arsenal striker pointed to a sequence where Ronaldo moved into the path of a cross that appeared destined for Bruno Fernandes, disrupting what Henry believed could have been a simpler opportunity.

Whether one agrees with Henry’s criticism or not is almost beside the point.

The fact that the conversation exists at all highlights Portugal’s dilemma.

With Messi, Argentina have removed uncertainty. Everybody knows where the ball should go, how the team should function and what the captain’s role is.

With Ronaldo, Portugal still seem caught between different ideas.

Not everyone inside the camp agrees with the criticism. Francisco Conceicao recently rejected suggestions that teammates feel compelled to constantly search for Ronaldo on the pitch.

“We don’t have any obligation or need to pass the ball to him,” Conceicao said.

The winger also described Ronaldo as an example for the younger generation because of the hunger he continues to show every day at 41.

Those comments were sensible, but they also highlighted the contrast with Argentina.

Nobody in the Argentina camp spends time explaining whether they should look for Messi.

The answer feels self-evident.

CAN PORTUGAL FIRE IN UNISON?

Portugal now head into a crucial clash against Uzbekistan needing a response. The match is not really about whether Ronaldo scores or whether another debate emerges around his place in the side. It is about whether Portugal can produce the sort of collective performance that Argentina now take for granted.

Because this has never really been a debate about whether Ronaldo remains a great player. That question was settled long ago. The real question is whether Portugal have fully figured out how to maximise him at this stage of his career.

Argentina answered that question years ago with Messi.

They stopped asking him to be everything and instead built a structure that allows him to be the most important thing.

The rewards are visible every time they take the field. Five goals at this World Cup. Five goals from Messi. A squad full of talented footballers who never seem confused about where the decisive moment should come from.

Portugal remain blessed with extraordinary talent and Ronaldo remains capable of producing moments that can change tournaments. But as the World Cup moves towards its decisive phase, the contrast between the two teams feels sharper than ever.

Argentina’s players speak about Messi with affection, admiration and complete certainty. Portugal’s conversations around Ronaldo are often accompanied by tactical debates, questions and caveats.

That may be the clearest distinction of all. Argentina know exactly what Messi means to them. Portugal are still trying to define Ronaldo’s place in this version of their team.

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