HOUSTON—Over the past week, Cristiano Ronaldo has watched Lionel Messi bag five goals in two games. He’s seen Kylian Mbappé score four and Erling Haaland add four of his own. Ronaldo has heard that he was washed up, that he no longer belonged in their league. There were even suggestions that Ronaldo, a five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or and international soccer’s all-time record goal scorer, was a liability to his country.
As it turns out, reports of Ronaldo’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
On Tuesday, in Portugal’s second game here, Ronaldo arrived fashionably late to the party with two goals of his own and a message to the rest of the planet.
Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – Group K – Portugal v Uzbekistan – Houston Stadium, Houston, Texas, U.S. – June 23, 2026 Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo reacts REUTERS/Phil Noble TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
“I’m back,” he said straight into a TV camera after the 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan. “I’m back.”
At 41 years old, Ronaldo represents a living, breathing, preening conundrum for his national team. There is no question that he is diminished from the lethal finisher and all-around menace he was in his prime. He is a step slower, his touch occasionally lets him down. In Portugal’s first match, against the Democratic Republic of Congo, he didn’t even manage a shot on target. But now, with his star power intact, Ronaldo is also the first man in history to score at six different World Cups.
“It was a difficult week, a dark week,” he told Portuguese television after the match. “It seemed like I was already retired from football. But I held on, as always, because I believe in hard work. It was difficult, I have to admit, but we’re back.”
To the droves of Portuguese fans who packed NRG Stadium just to lay eyes on him, Ronaldo had never left. During the warm-ups, they met each of his practice strikes with his signature “Siuuu.” Every time he appeared on the giant screen, the volume in the building went up. And 6 minutes into the game, he delivered what they were hoping for: a first goal in his last 10 games at major tournaments.
Thirty-three minutes later, Ronaldo added a second, by running onto a through ball from Bruno Fernandes and guiding it home at the far post.
Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – Group K – Portugal v Uzbekistan – Houston Stadium, Houston, Texas, U.S. – June 23, 2026 Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo in action with Uzbekistan’s Rustam Ashurmatov IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Maria Lysaker
In reality, with or without the goal drought, Tuesday’s match was always going to be a game for him. Ronaldo has scored against everyone in his seemingly endless career, with 145 goals in 230 appearances for Portugal. But he rarely misses the chance to feast on minnows. This is, after all, a player who has scored 10 times in his life against Luxembourg and nine times against Hungary.
Just as remarkable against Uzbekistan, however, was a moment when he didn’t score.
In the 17th minute, Portugal had won a free kick on the edge of the box, and the entire stadium was certain of what would happen next. Ronaldo stood over the ball and began sizing it up. They had seen this routine a million times over the past 20 years. The wide stance. The deep breaths. The laser focus. Some 68,800 witnesses were convinced that one of the greatest marksmen of all time was going to run-up and smash it. That included Uzbekistan’s goalkeeper.
What no one had imagined was a designed set piece that wouldn’t end with Ronaldo shooting. Instead, defender Nuno Mendes sprinted in and drove a low, left-footed strike into the bottom of the net. And Ronaldo, the billion-dollar decoy, celebrated by pointing at his head. The man who had conquered soccer was showing the crowd that he might just be a chess master too.
Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – Group K – Portugal v Uzbekistan – Houston Stadium, Houston, Texas, U.S. – June 23, 2026 Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after the match IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Maria Lysaker
Ronaldo then spent the entire second half hunting for his hat trick. The opportunity came in stoppage time, when he slid at full stretch to meet a cross, only for his effort to go wide. Moments later, the final whistle sounded and Ronaldo delivered his statement to the cameras.
It might only be the group stage. It might only be Uzbekistan. But Ronaldo, undoubtedly, had arrived at this World Cup.
“It’s so people don’t forget,” he said.
Write to Joshua Robinson at [email protected]
