LIONEL MESSI and Cristiano Ronaldo are on course for a World Cup quarter-final last dance.
The two dominant players of the 21st century will feature on the biggest stage for the final time in the USA next summer.
And after a draw ceremony which went on for more than two hours in Washington DC, the arch-rivals were given the opportunity to take each other on one more time.
Ronaldo’s Portugal are the top seeds in Group K, alongside Colombia, Uzbekistan and the winners of the intercontinental play-off involving Iraq, Suriname and Bolivia.
Argentina head Group J, completed by Austria, Algeria and Jordan.
And if both win their groups and first two knock-out matches, they would face off in Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium for a last eight shoot-out that would capture the attention of the football world on July 11 – hopefully for the right to play England in the semis.
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Messi – who will turn 39 before the quarters – will also play in his sixth after winning the trophy in Qatar to finally complete his collection.
But remarkably the pair have never met at football’s biggest spectacle despite their well-documented rivalry.
Ronaldo – who will be 41 by the time the tournament rolls around – will play in his SIXTH World Cup after first appearing in the 2006 edition in Germany.
The pair have always quietly shot for this World Cup and have stretched their careers to ensure they made it.
Messi, of course, is already playing in the States.
The Barcelona legend hasn’t slowed down at all in the MLS with 50 goals in 53 games winning the Golden Boot this year to follow the MVP Award he won last season.
Ronaldo is in his fourth season in Saudi Arabia, but he has carried on his European goalscoring exploits just like Messi has.
The former Man United star has scored 110 goals in 123 games for Al Nassr which includes 84 strikes in 86 games.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner is lucky he will be available for Portugal‘s first game at the tournament after getting sent off against Ireland last month.
After the red card, FIFA published a disciplinary verdict that imposed a three-game ban, which judged Ronaldo’s action as “violent conduct” or “serious foul play.”
But, crucially, two of those games deferred for a one-year probation period. Ronaldo has already served a one-game ban after missing his country’s 9-1 demolition of Armenia to finish off qualifying.
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