Cristiano Ronaldo finally delivered Tuesday.
After a long scoring drought and a tough week of criticism, the Portugal star got emotional after scoring two goals in a 5-0 win over Uzbekistan, saying it felt as if the outside noise had already pushed him into retirement.
“God helps those who work hard. I knew my teammates would help out too,” Ronaldo said after the game. “It was a difficult week, a dark week. It felt like I’d retired from soccer. But I hung in there, as I always do, because I believe in hard work more than anything else.
“It was tough, I have to admit, but we’re back.”
Ronaldo said Portugal needed that kind of response after he, his teammates and coach, Roberto Martínez, faced tough questions after a shocking 1-1 draw with Congo DR in their World Cup opener last week.
“We’ve improved; that’s just how life is,” Ronaldo said. “We face setbacks during games and in life, but the main goal is always to improve. And that’s what we did. It was a very tough and difficult week, with public opinion being very harsh on all the players, especially on me and the coach.
“But I don’t mind. I’ve been in this profession for 23 years now, and whenever things go well, Cristiano is doing great, but when they go badly, Cristiano is retired, he’s too old. It will always be like that.
“But we responded well today,” Ronaldo said. “That’s what we wanted. We played with a high line, and when we do that, it’s hard to stop Portugal.”
Ronaldo had gone 10 straight major tournament games without a goal before finally breaking through on Tuesday.
His scores made him the first player ever to have a goal in six different World Cups.
Portugal, which leads Group K by a point with a game in hand, will take on Colombia in Miami on Saturday in their last group stage contest.
