Throughout their long storied careers, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been measured against each other. Yet perhaps for the first time, they briefly share a record that may never come again.Two decades later, Messi and Ronaldo are still rewriting World Cup history together (Reuters and AFP Images)Following their goals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Messi and Ronaldo now share the record for the longest gap between their first and most recent World Cup goals — an astonishing 20 years and 6 days.Messi scored his first World Cup goal on June 16, 2006, during Argentina's 6-0 victory over Serbia and Montenegro. Aged 18 years and 358 days old, he came off the bench to score in the 88th minute, receiving a Carlos Tevez pass and chipping the goalkeeper to score his country’s sixth goal of the night.Exactly one day later, on June 17, 2006, Ronaldo scored his first World Cup goal. The then 21-year-old converted an 81st-minute penalty against Iran to secure a 2-0 victory for Portugal.Two decades later, that same symmetry has repeated itself.Also Read - Lionel Messi’s magic and Argentina’s masterplan: Sandesh Jhingan breaks down champions’ World Cup dominance - ExclusiveOn June 22, 2026, Messi scored a brace against Austria, and the very next day, Ronaldo scored two of his own against Uzbekistan. Because their first World Cup goals arrived one day apart in 2006, and their latest World Cup goals also arrived one day apart in 2026, the duration separating those milestones is identical.Both legends are now also the youngest and oldest goal-scorers for their respective countries at the World Cup.Messi breaks Miroslav Klose's recordMessi took his World Cup tally to a record-breaking 18 goals, surpassing Miroslav Klose as the highest goalscorer in men's World Cup history. It was the sixth consecutive World Cup game in which he had scored, a run dating back to Qatar 2022. He now has the most goal contributions (26) of any player at the World Cup, while his hat-trick against Algeria was his first at a World Cup, and aged 38 years and 357 days, made him the oldest to do so, breaking Ronaldo’s previous record of 33 years and 130 days.Ronaldo’s brace saw him become the first player to score in six different FIFA World Cups, from 2006 through 2026. The goals also moved him past Eusébio as Portugal’s leading scorer in the tournament with 10 in total. At 41 years and 138 days, he became the second-oldest player to score in a World Cup, behind Roger Milla’s 1994 record.