Mbappe towers over superstars Messi and Ronaldo

Agency :
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been hogging the headlines. Why not? After all, they are superstars. No conversation on football is complete without references to two of the greatest players. Their presence in Qatar is even more special since it could be their last World Cup.
How have the two fared? Messi was devastated after Argentina’s loss to Saudi Arabia but delved deep into his bag of tricks to conjure a magical moment to rescue the Albiceleste against Mexico. Ronaldo continued his record-breaking feats, becoming the only player to score in five World Cups by slotting Portugal’s penalty against Ghana.
It helped the duo remain in the news, but the two have been below their best. Messi shows up in the rival box only sporadically, a poor reflection on the man who used to harass rival defences regularly with his skill and trickery. The Argentine captain was largely missing against Saudi Arabia, barring that sumptuous penalty kick.
The pattern continued against Mexico for an hour before that stroke of genius. Messi soon followed it up with a perfect pass for Enzo Fernandes to uncork a sparkling curler. The No. 10 will need to produce more such moments if Argentina have to progress deep into the tournament.
Portugal have no such worries. They are not totally reliant on Ronaldo. He may be their talisman, but the Portuguese have Joao Felix, Rafael Leao, Bruno Fernandes, Bernado Silva and Joao Cancelo to lift the team out of tricky situations. At times, it felt as if Ronaldo was weighing them down.
The star’s skills may be intact, but he’s definitely slower, costing Portugal pace in the attack. The presence of speedy Leao makes up for it, and Felix has been on target. Maybe, Ronaldo will lift his game in the knockout phase. Even without his superb finishing, Portugal will have Ronaldo in the starting eleven simply because the sight of CR7 is enough to strike fear in the hearts of rivals.