Messi and Ronaldo cross 'forbidden' border


In the Tour de France there is a kind of 'forbidden' border. Any driver who hopes to win more than five times will be dogged by bad luck. Lance Armstrong broke this barrier in 2004, but later ran into the (doping) lamp. Such a ceiling also seemed to exist when it comes to World Cup participation. But soon Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will leave this Club of Five, which also consists of the German Lothar Matthäus and the Mexicans Antonio Carbajal, Rafael Márquez and Andrés Guardado. The first of six World Cup participations is normally on June 16 for the almost 39-year-old Argentinian, who will then take on Algeria with his country. The 41-year-old Ronaldo will probably play for the first time on June 17, against DR Congo. The Portuguese is trying to be the first to score in six World Cup final rounds, after he was the first to score in five different World Cups four years ago. Messi has scored at four World Cups so far: in 2010 he was dry. Just like multiple Golden Ball winners Messi and Ronaldo, Guillermo Ochoa also made a World Cup selection for the sixth time. The Mexican closing post was on the bench during the 2006 and 2010 tournaments and only became a regular face at the World Cup later in life.