Cristiano Ronaldo marked his return to form on Tuesday with two goals in Portugal's 5-0 World Cup win over Uzbekistan, a performance that also saw him become the first male footballer to score in six different World Cups.
Ronaldo, who had faced criticism following a subdued performance in Portugal's opening draw, stared down a camera after the match and shouted "I'm BACK," a defiant message to his detractors.
"Just so you don't forget, just so you don't forget," he explained post-match. "I knew it. God helps those who work hard. It was a difficult, dark week, it felt like I was already retired from football, but I held on as I always do because I believe more in hard work than in football. It was difficult, I have to confess, but we're back."
He dismissed comparisons to his rival Lionel Messi's performance in the tournament, stating, "I don't care about Messi."
The record-breaking goal came in the sixth minute, a finish from Joao Cancelo's cross. "Very happy, but for me the most important thing is the work the team did, the confidence we had," Ronaldo said of the historic moment. "We took a lot of hits during the week, we knew that would happen. The team worked very well, we improved a lot. There are evils that come for good, as they say. Speaking for myself, it's always nice to break records, but my goal is to help the national team achieve its objectives. In this part, it was to get through the qualifying round, with four points I think we've already done it."
Ronaldo's second goal, and Portugal's third, was scored in the 39th minute from a pass by Bruno Fernandes.
The brace makes Ronaldo the second-oldest player to score at a World Cup, behind Cameroon's Roger Milla, who was 42 when he scored in the 1994 tournament.
Ronaldo now has 145 international goals for Portugal and a total of 10 World Cup goals. His World Cup scoring history includes goals in 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, and now 2026. His goals have been scored against Iran, North Korea, Ghana, Spain, Morocco, and now Uzbekistan.
Other goals for Portugal in the match came from a Nuno Mendes free-kick, an own goal by Uzbek goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov, and a late strike by Rafael Leao.