Portugal legend, Cristiano Ronaldo, was not inclined to comment on Lionel Messi’s record-setting World Cup record after he made his own impact on the tournament by scoring two goals against Uzbekistan.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star responded to his critics in a decisive manner, scoring a first-half double that enabled Portugal to recover from a disappointing 1-1 draw against DR Congo last week.
Portugal’s coach, Roberto Martinez, faced increasing pressure to drop the 41-year-old, who had gone 10 games without scoring in a major tournament following a lackluster performance in the Group K opener.
However, Martinez’s trust in his key player was quickly justified with Ronaldo’s two goals, which contributed to a convincing 5-0 victory.
The form displayed by the Al-Nassr striker was particularly well-timed, especially in light of the recent achievements of his long-time rival Messi, who, just 24 hours earlier, became the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history by surpassing Germany’s Miroslav Klose with two goals against Austria, adding to his hat-trick in the victory over Algeria.
When asked for his thoughts on Messi further solidifying his place in the record books, Ronaldo could only respond with a display of petulance, turning away from the reporter while wagging his finger and saying, “next question.”
Ronaldo, meanwhile, felt the performance against the World Cup debutants was the ‘silver lining’ the team needed after all their recent criticism.
He said: ‘I’m very happy but, for me, the most important thing is our work and the confidence we showed.
“Obviously personal records are always nice but my goal is always to help the team achieve its objectives.”