{"id":3475,"date":"2026-06-23T19:18:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T19:18:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3475"},"modified":"2026-06-23T19:18:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T19:18:40","slug":"portugals-ronaldo-shakes-off-world-cup-doubters-scores-2-after-sluggish-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3475","title":{"rendered":"Portugal’s Ronaldo shakes off World Cup doubters, scores 2 after sluggish start"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It did not take long for the questions to surface about the aging star. <\/p>

\n
\n\n
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\"Lionel<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

Soccer Edition <\/h3>\n

Magnificent Messi makes history, breaks all-time World Cup scoring record<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n

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.<\/p>

Read more Who would pay for Trump\u2019s proposed $300 billion Iran reconstruction fund?<\/a><\/p>

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?<\/p>\n

As Ronaldo watched his fellow stars dominate at this thrilling tournament \u2014 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 \u2014 you could tell his poor performance bothered him.<\/p>

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.<\/p>

Read more Who would pay for Trump\u2019s proposed $300 billion Iran reconstruction fund?<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>

And he wasn’t done. <\/p>

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. <\/p>

Read more A Revolutionary War soldier\u2019s DNA links him to living relatives<\/a><\/p>

Still, Portugal defeated Uzbekistan 5-0. Portugal was back, and so is Ronaldo.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At 41, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the oldest players in the World Cup. Against the Democratic Republic of Congo he was mostly invisible and questions mounted. Against Uzbekistan, he sparkled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[882,458,315,446,248],"class_list":["post-3475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-cristiano-ronaldo","tag-fifa","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-portugal","tag-world-cup"],"yoast_head":"\nPortugal's Ronaldo shakes off World Cup doubters, scores 2 after sluggish start - Best USA Movers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3475\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Portugal's Ronaldo shakes off World Cup doubters, scores 2 after sluggish start - Best USA Movers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At 41, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the oldest players in the World Cup. 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