Messi vs. Ronaldo Ballon D'Or 2012 Bout: Argentina vs. Chile Performance Gives Messi Edge as Ronaldo Struggles During World Cup 2014 Qualifiers

The latest round in the Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano battle came to an end with a clear winner in the ring.

After Friday's tremendous performance from the Argentine and Ronaldo's invisibility against Russia, Messi had the edge in the recent spotlight. But Ronaldo still had one chance to prove his potency on the international stage, albeit against a weaker squad.

But Ronaldo proved again that the 2012 Euro Cup performance may have been a mirage as the striker was unable to produce on the international stage for the third straight match. Ronaldo had two prime scoring chances in the match, but was robbed on one and missed on the other. Playing in his 100^th cap for Portugal, many expected a dominating performance from Ronaldo. He was at home in front of his home fans against a team that was suffering a six game losing streak. But the visitors took an early 1-0 lead and held on until 11 minutes from time. But Ronaldo could not even be the hero in that match and was absent on play that led to the tying goal. The last week has been a damper on a player that has been having the best year of his career and was coming off 10 goals in just 5 games. Through 4 qualifiers, Ronaldo only has 1 goal.

His rival continued his magical play and scored one of two Argentina goals in a 2-1 win over Chile. His tallies for the weekend were now three goals in two games and seven overall in qualifying. Messi' goal against Chile was exceptional as the phenom ran behind the Chilean defense and retrieved a perfect loft pass from Fernando Gago. He cut back past the oncoming Chilean defenders and blasted it home.

Messi and Ronaldo have been tied in goals for La Liga and had a tremendous face-off at the Camp Nou a week before the World Cup Qualifiers. Both players are widely believed to be the contenders for the 2012 Ballon D'Or and a lot of emphasis was being placed on their international form as a potential tiebreaker. If that be the case, then Messi's strong form on the international and club form could make him the runaway favorite for the Best Player of the Year Award.