All-time World Cup knockout stats compared
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the two best players of their generation – but their record in World Cup knockout matches is starkly different.
Interestingly, neither player netted outside of the group stages of a World Cup until 2022. Both Argentina and Portugal conspired to underperform despite the riches at their disposal.
But their paths well and truly diverged in 2022. Ronaldo was benched during Portugal’s last 16 and quarter-final matches, unable to rescue his country from losing to Morocco.
Whereas Messi and Argentina entered another stratosphere. Their talisman scored five times against Australia, the Netherlands, Croatia and France to win their first World Cup since 1986.
It cemented Messi’s reputation as one of the greatest footballers to have played the game. Manager Lionel Scaloni had platformed him, building a team around his ageing legs.
Both players scored in the 2026 group stages – Messi six times and Ronaldo twice – and were expected to fire after the stakes were raised.
Messi scored in the thrilling win over Cape Verde and netted again in an even-more-thrilling victory over Egypt in the last 16.
Ronaldo had never scored in a World Cup knockout match, but netted a penalty in Portugal’s dramatic last 32 match with Croatia. But he was scoreless in the defeat to Spain in the last 16.
We’ve compared his overall numbers with Messi’s
Lionel Messi
Games: 15 ⭐
Starts: 14⭐
Sub appearances: 1
Goals: 7 ⭐
Assists: 8 ⭐
Penalties scored: 3 ⭐
Minutes per goal: 215.1⭐
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 376.5⭐
Minutes per goal or assist: 100.4 ⭐
Cristiano Ronaldo
Games: 10
Starts: 8
Sub appearances: 2⭐
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Penalties scored: 1
Minutes per goal: 740
Minutes per non-penalty goal: N/A
Minutes per goal or assist: 740
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