AL RAYYAN, Qatar - Portugal's Football Federation (FPF) have denied media reports that captain Cristiano Ronaldo threatened to leave the national team during the World Cup after coach Fernando Santos dropped him for their last-16 win over Switzerland.

Eight years later, Copa América might return to the U.S.

Copa América could be hosted by the United States in 2024

After much skepticism over what the 2026 World Cup hosts – USA, Mexico and Canada – would do to prepare for the tournament (considering they will not partake in the Concacaf qualifiers), news surrounding a possible return to the South American tournament has begun to emerge, with even the U.S. hosting the tournament to be held in 2024 being very likely.

Portugal must have seen Brazil’s emphatic drubbing of South Korea on Monday and thought, “that’s it?” 

Without Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting 11 for its knockout round tie against Switzerland, Portugal was allowed to breathe going forward and discovered its creative side, without having the attacking muzzle that is Manchester United’s newest abdication. 

Mexican soccer is facing a bleak present and an uncertain future. Despite the bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics, the failures are piling up at industrial levels. 

The elimination from the 2022 World Cup – the first in a group stage since Argentina 1978 – is the most notorious fall at the display, but the list of frustrations in the last two years is simply abysmal. Without counting Liga MX sorrows against Major League Soccer, the Mexican national teams seem to be wandering around without a clear North. 

It was a long shot when the tournament began, but the answer to "can Messi face Ronaldo in World Cup 2022 final" is suddenly somewhat plausible with both Argentina and Portugal reaching the quarterfinals on opposite sides of the bracket.

That means Messi and Ronaldo both need to win just two more games to reach the final at Lusail Iconic Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 18. Here's how it's to be done. 

Can Messi face Ronaldo in World Cup 2022 Final?

Argentina's route to the final

Antes de su partido de octavos de final ante Suiza, el técnico de Portugal Fernando Santos sorprendió al mundo anunciando que Cristiano Ronaldo no sería titular. No porque estuviera lesionado, sino que por simple y llana decisión técnica.

La ausencia de CR7, sin embargo, no sería problema. Su reemplazante, Gonçalo Ramos, justificaría luego la controversial decisión de su entrenador, marcando el primer hat trick del Mundial y guiando la clasificación de los lusos a los cuartos de final del torneo, donde enfrentarán a Marruecos.