Portugal's World Cup opener marks another loss for Cristiano Ronaldo in rivalry with Lionel Messi

With the game tied 1-1, Ronaldo sailed a makeable shot. He probably shouldn't have taken it in the first place. Midfielder Bruno Fernandes appeared to have a much better look at the net, but Ronaldo touched the ball before he could have a scoring chance.

Ronaldo may have been too eager to end his World Cup goal drought. He hasn't scored in five straight games in the quadrennial tournament. His last came in the group stage against Ghana in 2022.

Messi, meanwhile, keeps scoring. He has netted nine goals at the World Cup during this span.

It's only one game, but another no-show from Ronaldo on one of the world's biggest sporting stages should raise alarms for Portugal. Entering the tournament, many soccer experts wondered how effective he would be at 41. The first match suggests not super impactful, if at all. 

That's unfortunate for Ronaldo, who needs to win his first World Cup to remind fans he was once considered better than Messi. The gap between the stars has widened in recent years. 

Messi scored goal No. 900 in his 1,142nd match in May, well before Ronaldo did so. He scored his 900th goal in his 1,236th match. He also has more Ballon d'Or awards as the best player in the world (eight) than Ronaldo (five). 

Ronaldo still has a chance to redeem himself. Portugal earned one point on Wednesday and can earn more in its next fixture against Uzbekistan (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock, 1 p.m. ET) on June 23 at NRG Stadium. 

Portugal hopes the old "CR7" comes back in that match for its sake and his. Continuing to show up small in FIFA's biggest World Cup ever (48 teams) would settle the Ronaldo-Messi debate.