20 June -- There are few talking points in world football that generate as much polarisation as the Messi vs Ronaldo debate.
But while the diminutive Argentinean was underwhelming in his team's World Cup opener -- an surprise draw against underdogs Iceland in which Messi missed a penalty -- CR7 has been nothing short of brilliant on the world's biggest stage.
No longer the fastest player on the pitch, or able to suspend his frame for endless seconds to rise above a defender, Ronaldo now plays to his remaining and still abundant strengths.
His passing game is deft and clinical; his movement off the ball is patient, tactical and sublime, as is his ability to lure defenders into a belief that they have him covered, only to watch him slip seamlessly into a gap that previously didn't exist before they've had chance to adjust.
And while in yesterday afternoon's hard-fought match against Morocco he did not produce a devastating three-goal haul as he did against Spain in Portugal's opening match, his 4th-minute goal against the North Africans -- the only of the match -- embodied all the characteristics that put Ronaldo into an entirely different league.
From a Joao Moutinho cross, Ronaldo glided effortlessly into space after selling Moroccan defender Manuel da Costa a dummy. What followed was a powerful, accurate header just in front of Karim El Ahmadi's outstretched boot, and with that CR7 became the leading European international goalscorer of all time.
Portugal were not the best team on the pitch, despite their win. But their talismanic captain remains the best player at the World Cup by some margin, with more yet to come.