Portugal and Argentina, two teams with star players Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, won't meet in the FIFA World Cup before the final. The teams have separate paths in the knockout stage, with Portugal facing Croatia in the Round of 32 and Argentina taking on Cape Verde.
Portugal's path is set to face a winner of Spain vs the Group J runner-up in the Round of 16, while Argentina will face the winner of Australia vs Egypt. This separation means that even if both teams keep winning, they won't meet until the final match of the tournament.
There is one exception: if both teams reach the semifinals and lose, they could meet in the third-place playoff. However, for the dream match that truly matters, the bracket allows only one stage: the final.
