Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo rolled back the years on Tuesday night, becoming the first player to score in six different FIFA World Cups as his side hammered Uzbekistan 5-0 to boost their hopes of reaching the last 32.
The 41-year-old superstar responded in emphatic fashion after facing criticism following Portugal’s 1-1 draw against the Democratic Republic of Congo in their opening Group K match.
Ronaldo wasted little time in making his mark, opening the scoring in the sixth minute before adding a second goal on 39 minutes as Portugal stormed to a comfortable victory in Houston.
Nuno Mendes doubled Portugal’s advantage with a well-struck free-kick in the 17th minute, while Rafael Leao was among the scorers in the second half as Roberto Martinez’s men completed a dominant performance.
A jubilant Ronaldo celebrated his first goal by repeatedly mouthing “I’m back, I’m back” as he acknowledged teammates and supporters after ending a lengthy scoring drought at major international tournaments.
Reflecting on the victory, Ronaldo admitted it had been a difficult period for both the team and coaching staff.
“I can say it was a very tough week, a difficult week, a week in which public opinion was very harsh on us, on all the players, especially on the coach,” he said.
“But it’s always like that. It’s fine because when you think about it, it’s already 23 years I’ve been a professional and whenever things don’t go well it’s, ‘Cristiano, he’s finished, he’s old’.”
Uzbekistan coach Fabio Cannavaro praised the veteran forward, describing him as one of football’s greatest players.
“As a defender, you need to be very smart to be close to him, because if you give one centimetre in the box, you are dead,” said Cannavaro.
The victory leaves Portugal in a strong position to qualify for the knockout stages, while Colombia strengthened their own chances with a narrow 1-0 victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo later in the day.
Elsewhere, England missed an opportunity to secure early qualification after being held to a goalless draw by Ghana in a tightly contested Group L encounter at Foxborough outside Boston.
Despite dominating possession and creating several chances, England were unable to find a breakthrough against a disciplined Ghanaian defence, leaving qualification for the next round still hanging in the balance.
The result means England will need a positive outcome in their final group match to guarantee progress to the last 32 as the World Cup group stage continues to gather momentum.
