It did not take long for the questions to surface about the aging star. Ronaldo was virtually invisible in Portugal's opening World Cup match against the Democratic Republic of Congo. Despite playing the entire game last week, he was essentially absent in the 1-1 draw. Gone were his flashes of excellence and otherworldly goalscoring ability.
The whispers about the 41-year-old turned louder. The drumbeat on social media and chatter from television commentators grew: should the team captain limit his minutes? Was he a distraction? Were his teammates deferring to him too much during the game?
Tournament context
As Ronaldo watched his fellow stars dominate at this thrilling tournament, you could tell his poor performance bothered him. Argentina's Lionel Messi scored a hat trick in his opener, followed by two goals in Argentina's second game. France's Kylian Mbappe and Norway's Erling Haaland have each scored four times.
Messi also made history by breaking the all-time World Cup scoring record.
Ronaldo strikes twice in Houston
On Tuesday, as he took the field against Uzbekistan, he looked like the Ronaldo of old. It took all of six minutes for Ronaldo to shake off the doubters. Deep inside Uzbekistan's penalty area, Ronaldo struck a powerful right-footed volley into the net.
His face showed it all. The worry. The concern. It was all gone. Replaced by relief. A smile. Fist pumps. His teammates mobbed him. The crowd in Houston roared to life.
In the 39th minute, he streaked down the field and, with a perfectly-placed pass from Bruno Fernandes, struck it by the Uzbek goalkeeper. Ronaldo's second goal of the game. His teammates tried to get him his hat trick, but it was not to be.
Still, Portugal defeated Uzbekistan 5-0. Portugal was back, and so is Ronaldo.
Featured names
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Michael Steele
- Getty Images
- Magnificent Messi
- Democratic Republic
- Lionel Messi
- Kylian Mbappe
- Erling Haaland
- Charlotte Wilson
- Bruno Fernandes
