Former US footballer Alexi Lalas opined that there is no Lionel Messi without Cristiano Ronaldo. Emphasising how Ronaldo pushed Messi to unleash the best version of himself, he added, "Heroes need villains. Sometimes you need a foil...And these players, they have been representative of the World Cup." Messi and Ronaldo are the all-time leading goal-scorers for Argentina and Portugal, respectively.