India, June 24 -- 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.

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, o...