Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the World Cup match against Uzbekistan in Houston on Tuesday.
Michael Steele/Getty Images
Michael Steele/Getty Images
It did not take long for the questions to surface about the aging star.
Cristiano 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?
As Ronaldo watched his fellow stars dominate at this thrilling tournament — 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 — you could tell his poor performance bothered him.
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. He is now the first player (man or woman) to score in six World Cups.
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal celebrates scoring his first of two World Cup goals against Uzbekistan. He becomes the first player to score in six World Cups.
Charlotte Wilson/Getty Images
Charlotte Wilson/Getty Images
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.
And he wasn’t done.
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.
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هلدینگ کاسپین استانبول | خرید ملک در ترکیه | صرافی معتبر ایرانی در ترکیه | خرید و فروش طلا در ترکیه | مهاجرت به ترکیه | واردات و صادرات در ترکیه | نیازمندیهای ترکیه | اخبار ترکیه | اخبار جهانی | توریست ایران | خدمات توریستی در ایران | تورهای گردشگری ایران | هلدینگ اول | خدمات کاریابی و فریلنسری و شغل | مرجع اطلاعات ایران (همه چیز در ایران) | کیف پول و خدمات مالی و پرداخت یار | اخبار ایران | تابلو زنده قیمت ارز در ترکیه و استانبول | صرافی آنلاین ترکیه | قیمت طلا و نقره در ترکیه | سرمایه گذاری در ترکیه | جواهرات در ترکیه | نرخ لحظه ای ارزها در استانبول | قیمت دلار امروز در ترکیه | قیمت دلار استانبول امروز | قیمت لحظه ای دلار | اخبار روز ترکیه استانبول | اپلیکیشن ISTEX | اپلیکیشن قیمت لحظه ای دلار و یورو و لیر و ارزها در ترکیه
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