“Regardless of whether they win it, I still feel he’ll perform” – Joe Cole and Peter Crouch claim Lionel Messi will outshine Cristiano Ronaldo and many others at FIFA World Cup

Joe Cole and Peter Crouch predicted that Lionel Messi would outshine Cristiano Ronaldo and other superstars in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The tournament in Qatar will be Messi's fourth appearance on the grandest football stage. He has played 19 World Cup games so far across four editions, scoring six goals and providing five assists.

However, the Argentine has never won the holy grail. A defeat to Germany in the 2014 edition's final has been his best collective performance so far.

Messi also won the golden ball on that occasion. Crouch and Cole predicted he would have a similar sort of individual tournament even if the Albicelestes didn't lift the trophy.

Speaking to LadBible's Agree to disagree, Crouch said (via Sport BIBLE):

“Has he proven it in the World Cup? Maradona dragged Argentina to World Cups, I say drag, they still had some good players, but he’s won the World Cup – is he seen as a failure if he doesn’t win the World Cup?”

He added that there are other superstars like Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe who will look to have their say:

“There’s obviously Benzema, Mbappe – there’s easily players who can be player of the tournament but a safe bet is Messi. Regardless if they win it or not, he could easily be Golden Boot and best player of the tournament."

Lionel Messi has gotten off to a much better start to his club campaign than Cristiano Ronaldo. Joe Cle pointed out Messi's form and said:

“If they don’t win the tournament it just leaves the [greatest player] argument open. If Argentina wins the World Cup and Messi stars it’s pretty much done, This season he’s hit the ground running, he’s in-form, they haven’t lost in 35 games. Regardless of whether they win it, I still feel he’ll perform and he’ll be the best player."

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When are Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi starting their campaign at the 2022 FIFA World Cup?

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi's Argentina will start their campaign in Qatar against Saudi Arabia in Group C on November 22.

They will take on Mexico and Poland on November 27 and December 1, respectively, next.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal will play their first game in Group H against Ghana. They will play Uruguay and South Korea on November 29 and December 2 in their remaining group games of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.