Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo miss out as Google reportedly predicts 2022 FIFA World Cup finalists
Google notably suggested that neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo would make it to the FIFA World Cup final in Qatar with their respective sides this winter.
The final of the global tournament will take place at the Lusail Stadium on December 18. While the finalists are obviously still undecided, users have noticed something different on Google.
The search engine showed that Brazil and France were scheduled to play at the 80,000-capacity stadium on the same day as the final (via Nico Cantor). Users took note of this when they searched for info about the World Cup.
It has now been fixed, with the final match of the event showing TBD vs TBD, with Google now aware that neither team has made it to the final.
v France 
Strangely, if you Google “Lusail stadium events” one of the events on Dec 18 is Brazil 🇧🇷 v France 🇫🇷
December 18th is the date of the World Cup final to be hosted in the Lusail Stadium 🧐 https://t.co/H9ICZ0xZxL
While it may have been an error on the part of the search engine giant, it could also be taken as a prediction of the events set to occur.
With France and Brazil in the World Cup final, it would mean that both Messi and Ronaldo would have missed out on the coveted trophy once more.
Ronaldo is now 37 years old and will potentially be playing his last World Cup for Portugal. He would certainly not want to miss out on a chance to win the biggest trophy in world football.
Messi, meanwhile, who is now 34 years old, could perhaps still make another World Cup appearance in four years. However, this World Cup also offers the Paris Saint-Germain forward the opportunity to make it count on the biggest stage in football.
He led Argentina to the final in 2014, only to be beaten by Germany in extra time. Messi did, however, win the Golden Ball.
If Portugal and Argentina win their groups we could see Ronaldo and Messi play each other in the World Cup final.
We could finally end the debate 🐐 https://t.co/Gj0HIxeqq8
Fans of Brazil and France will certainly be pleased with the error-cum-preduction. Both countries are strong favorites to win the World Cup with the latter being the current holders.
Their prior meetings in the tournament have seen the Selecao struggle against Les Blues. The South American side has lost three times in a row against their European counterparts.
Lionel Messi has overtaken Cristiano Ronaldo in goal-scoring record
The Argentina captain has now surpassed his Portuguese rival in becoming the player with the most non-penalty goals in world football.
Messi was on hand to score against Lyon for PSG in their last Ligue 1 clash, which saw him take his tally to 672 non-penalty goals.
Ronaldo and Pele are both on 671 non-penalty goals. However, it is likely that the Portugal marksman will continue to secure more goals of the sort as the season progresses.