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Ronaldo declared "I'm back!" after scoring twice against Uzbekistan
Portugal star forward Cristiano Ronaldo got off the schneid against Uzbekistan on Tuesday, as his two goals were not only his first in a major international tournament in the last 10 games but also established him as the first ever player to score in six different World Cups.
Much has been made about Ronaldo’s recent performances for the Portuguese national team recently, particularly following his anonymous performance against the D.R. Congo in Portugal’s first match of the World Cup.
The 41-year-old got right against Uzbekistan, though, as he scored two first half goals in Portugal’s 5-0 win. The ever-image conscious Ronaldo clearly heard the narrative about him in recent weeks, as he turned to the camera to yell “I’m back!” after scoring one of his goals.
Ronaldo was surely desperate to keep up with the other soccer superstars at the tournament, with the likes of Kylian Mbappe (four goals), Erling Haaland (four goals), Mohamed Salah (one goal, two assists), Harry Kane (two goals) and Lionel Messi (five goals) delivering stand-out showings that were equal to their legacies in the modern game.
Ronaldo’s two-goal performance against Uzbekistan underlined the differences between he and Lionel Messi, whom he refused to answer a question about
His long-running rivalry with Messi, though, likely added particular fuel to his fire, which conversely led to him reminding everyone of the fundamental difference between the pair when it comes to their sporting personas: Messi is unassuming and uses his performances to lift his team, while Ronaldo is aggrandizing and focuses on himself.
This is quite a fundamental difference between him and Lionel Messi.
Messi didn’t even post about breaking the record yesterday.
And immediately after winning a huge game Ronaldo is shouting about himself. https://t.co/xUXKTTOj36
— Out of Context Football Manager (@nocontextfm1) June 23, 2026
After the match, Ronaldo continued his performative yet still purpose-driving acrimony toward Messi, as he ignored — or, since we’re in the soccer spirit, as the British would put it, “mugged off” — a question about the 39-year-old Argentinian legend.
Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t want to hear any of this reporter’s question about Messi pic.twitter.com/uJRXMXmBNa
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 23, 2026
If Messi was asked this he would probably say something like ” we have both been doing this for a while” or smth
whilst Ronaldo truly despises Messi for some reason….. https://t.co/noIbLBx2uJ
— 𝐏𝐒𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐓 (@PSGINT_) June 23, 2026
“God helps those who work hard. I knew my teammates would help out too,” Ronaldo said after the match. “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.”
“I always arrive. Sooner or later, I’m there. It’s about continuing the work. I truly believe that God helps those who work hard,” he added. “It’s always been that way in my career, nothing’s going to change. I’m very happy.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who seems to put his bombastic shtick aside while discussing Messi, had a pointedly succinct analysis of Ronaldo’s ego and the way he presents it.
🇵🇹 @Ibra_official shares his thoughts on @Cristiano Ronaldo’s dominant performance for Portugal pic.twitter.com/c1bFNQy13P
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 23, 2026
Ronaldo’s two goals on Tuesday now gives him 10 all time at the World Cup, which puts him fourth all-time behind Miroslav Klose (16), Mbappe (16), and Messi (18).