THE hair may be unnaturally dark. And there is no hiding the fact his legs are going.
But age has not yet dimmed the goalscoring instincts of Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, 41.
Sign up for the Football newsletter
Thank you!
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Portugal thrashed Uzbekistan Credit: Reuters
The mind of the greats is strong, telling them when and how to move, and where the goal is. The trick is to get the weakening body to obey.
With two unerring first-time finishes, the Portugal captain showed he may yet be able to bend this tournament to his formidable will.
And the rest of Roberto Martinez’s team also turned up to suggest they can be more, not less, than the sum of their impressive parts.
Ronaldo’s goals, either side of Nuno Mendes’ free-kick, settled the game in the first half. An own goal and a late Rafael Leao strike completed the rout.
READ MORE ON THE WORLD CUP
WORLDIE OFFERS
World Cup 2026 free bets and offers: Best new football sign-up deals
WORLD OF DIFFERENCE
Fifa want to change World Cup rules before knockout matches start
After the false start against the Democratic Republic of Congo, this was much more like the performance you would expect from a nation that should be contenders to win the whole thing.
Of course, it has to be put into perspective. Just like Lionel Messi and Argentina’s headline-grabbing, history-making first two matches.
Uzbekistan’s White Wolves were lambs to the slaughter.
Boss Fabio Cannavaro, as a player, was one of only three defenders to win the Ballon d’Or after captaining Italy to World Cup glory in 2006.
But his team, apart from a few agricultural challenges, made it too easy for Portugal to show off their attacking potential. And despite some neat approach play, the Group K whipping boys posed little threat to Diogo Costa’s goal.
You can only beat what is in front of you, though. And Portugal played like a team who acknowledged it was not just one man who had let his country down against the DRC.
Bruno Fernandes was hammered for his performance, with even Ronaldo’s sister joining in the social media pile-on.
Fernandes started like a man possessed this time out and saw an early shot deflected over the bar.
Portugal swarmed all over their opponents and Ronaldo could – maybe should – have scored from a Mendes cross inside four minutes.
He seemed to fail to make any contact whatsoever and signalled with thumb and forefinger how close it had been.
But the moment he and the crowd had been waiting for came not long afterwards.
Joao Cancelo charged down the right and pinged in a firm cross. And there was Ronaldo, free at the edge of the six-yard box, to sweep the ball first-time inside the near post.
Ronaldo ran to the bench to accept the congratulations of most of the squad, before separately performing his trademark celebration, much to the crowd’s delight.
The game looked over barely 10 minutes later.
Odiljon Khamrobekov was booked for bringing down Pedro Neto on the edge of the box and Ronaldo kindly allowed Mendes to take the free-kick.
The left-back rewarded the great man’s generosity by beating Uzbek goalkeeper Abduhovid Nematov, who seemed to get his positioning, or the wall, or both, wrong.
Around the half-hour Azizjon Ganiev thought he had pulled one back with a goal of the tournament contender. But referee Jalal Jayed correctly disallowed it for a foul on Cancelo in the build-up after being alerted by the VAR.
Portugal responded with a sumptuous third goal, and Ronaldo’s second.
Joao Felix, who was linking play superbly after replacing Bernardo Silva in the starting line-up, fed Fernandes.
The Manchester United star’s through-ball to his former team-mate was right on the money.
And Ronaldo’s finish across the ‘keeper and into the side netting was vintage.
The Uzbeks kept trying, and Renato Veiga made a good block on a Khamrobekov shot.
But Ronaldo almost claimed a hat-trick from another Cancelo cross before the break.
He went close again just ahead of the hour mark.
After shaping up to take a trademark free-kick from distance, Ronaldo instead ran into the box and volleyed Mendes’ delivery goalwards.
Nematov saved, but from the resulting Fernandes corner, Felix created enough mischief to force Abdukohir Khusanov and Nematov between them to put the ball into their own net.
The crowd was willing Ronaldo to a hat-trick and he did his best to please them.
In the 74th minute, he still had the energy and the desire to close down Nematov, who recovered to push away a goalbound shot.
The Uzbek ‘keeper also kept out a Fernandes effort before substitute Leao made it five.
Ronaldo was still counterpressing and trying for the treble in stoppage time.
You wondered if it was wise for him to stay on for the whole game, with an important final group match against Colombia to come.
But this time the old fella had earned the right to be indulged.
