Messi, Ronaldo may miss the WC

Argentina and Portugal are both in danger of missing out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
By Adarsh Vinay Imagine the next Wimbledon without Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Or the 2011 Cricket World Cup, sans Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting. What if Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps didn’t turn up at the next Olympics in London? The world's greatest sporting events could be robbed of their appeal if they did not feature their biggest icons. But this could very well be the case during the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in July 2010. Argentina's Lionel Messi and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably two of the world's greatest footballers, could be missing when the top 32 countries line-up for the biggest showpiece on Planet Earth next year. Their national teams’ miserable performances in the World Cup qualifiers see them trailing the spots that ensure automatic qualification. Argentina's Saturday night 3-1 defeat to Brazil leaves them languishing at fourth position among the 10 teams in the South American group. The top four qualify for the World Cup, while the fifth in the group will take on the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF in a two-legged play-off. The win seals Brazil's qualification but leaves Argentina in fourth place with 22 points, just 2 above Colombia and Ecuador, who have 20 each. Argentina face tricky away fixtures with Uruguay and Paraguay next and Diego Maradona's men haven't won on foreign soil since a win at Venezuela two years ago. Maradona has come under fire for his bizarre tactics, with the 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Bolivia in April being the all-time low. He started the match against Brazil without a striker, playing two wide players instead. The gamble did not pay off and resulted in Argentina's first home defeat in a Word Cup qualifier since the 5-0 loss to Colombia way back in 1993. Portugal, on the other hand, did a little better. They managed a last gasp 1-1 draw with Denmark on Saturday. The draw narrowly keeps their World Cup dream alive. With only the winner of the eight-member group guaranteed automatic qualification and the runners-up entering the play-off in November, fourth-placed Portugal have a daunting task on their hands to make it to the second spot. Denmark lead the group with 17 points, while Hungary and Sweden are second and third with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Portugal, who are on 10, take on Hungary twice and Malta at home in their remaining three matches. Despite the presence of world-class players like Ronaldo and Deco, manager Carlos Queiroz lacks adequate cover in other key areas. Portugal don’t have a genuine finisher or a holding midfielder and this has made the going difficult for his team. Unlike many greats like George Best, Ryan Giggs and Alfredo Di Stefano, who have never played a World Cup, Messi and Ronaldo played in the 2006 edition and will still have age on their side for the 2014 edition. Having been voted first and second in last FIFA Player of the Year poll, the El Classico rivals are approaching the peak of their careers and it will be a pity if they do not play at the sport’s biggest platform next summer. With form and fitness being capricious factors, Brazil 2014 might come a little too late for two of the game’s biggest stars.
Source : Star Sports