Two goals and an assist by sheer aura: Cristiano Ronaldo just entered the World Cup chat | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo has entered the chat. In the week Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland raced off in pursuit of the World Cup’s Golden Boot, the player to have scored more goals than anyone alive finally turned up in North America. This game felt less about football and more about one man’s quest to justify his existence. Ronaldo scored two goals and his sheer aura created another as – sidenote – Portugal beat Uzbekistan 5-0 to assert themselves in Group K.

The power of Ronaldo’s celebrity showed itself before the game had even begun. As the crowd counted down the seconds to kick-off inside this hulking metallic stadium in Houston, Uzbekistan's Aziz Ganiev took his chance, leaning over the halfway line to lay hands on the great man, who responded with a hug.

There were moments in this match when Ronaldo’s presence was enough. Portugal were awarded a first-half free-kick on the edge of the box and the crowd thought they knew what was coming. Ronaldo lined up behind the ball, legs splayed, shorts hiked, loaded like some ancient cannon, Portugal’s buffalo gun. A thousand camera phones rose up behind the goal like offerings to a god. Goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov wiped his brow. And while Houston watched Ronaldo, Nuno Mendes swept the ball into Nematov’s net.

Football, Diego Maradona explained, is a game of deception.

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Nuno Mendes shoots after Ronaldo played the role of decoy (Reuters)

Ronaldo had already opened the scoring by that point, darting to the near post to steer in Joao Cancelo’s bouncing cross from four yards. It was the sort of goal he scored plenty of in qualifying, and through last summer’s Nations League triumph, sensing the place to be before firing a first-time finish. In doing so he made history, becoming the first player to score at six World Cups. For all Ronaldo’s limitations at 41 years old, he remains an elite poacher inside the six-yard box.

The relief was palpable. Ronaldo rushed over to the Portugal bench where he was embraced by substitute Diogo Dalot, one of his most loyal and loving supporters. There was a tangible sense of appreciation from his teammates in those moments of celebration, each taking their turn to hug their talisman, whose circus act must get on their nerves at times. Ronaldo made sure not to forget his customary “Siuuu” move, the piece of theatre this crowd had apparently come to see.

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Ronaldo performs his customary celebration as Portugal fans look on (Reuters)

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Ronaldo was all smiles after scoring Portugal's third goal of the game (Reuters)

Almost every Portugal fan streaming in before kick-off bore the No 7. In some ways Ronaldo is at odds with the Houston Stadium, a lumpen pile of concrete and metal that doesn’t care what anyone thinks, in a city that doesn’t have much time for idols. But under the roof, in an air-conditioned space with hydration breaks at the ready, it seemed like the perfect setting for an old man on a mission.

The endless comparisons with Messi are increasingly unflattering, and perhaps unnecessary. But they are also hard to resist, not only because of their parallel careers and the epic rivalry they shared, but because there is no one else like Ronaldo and Messi at this World Cup. They are the only strikers who play the game at walking pace, literally. Their average speeds at this tournament, according to Fifa, are below 5km/hr. That’s slower than you and I stroll down the street.

What Messi proved over the past two weeks is that Argentina still need him, that they still rely on his supernatural talents. Whereas Ronaldo appeared impotent in Portugal’s goalless draw with DR Congo, at times actively hindering his teammates, at other times detached from the game, their stranded king.

Not here. Uzbekistan were generous opponents, just as Ganiev’s pre-match reverence hinted they might be. But Ronaldo showed why Roberto Martinez unwaveringly persists with his captain when other managers might have cast him aside by now. His second goal was excellent, racing past defenders to receive Bruno Fernandes’ perfectly weighted throughball before sliding a one-touch finish past Nematov, for 3-0 at half-time.

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Ronaldo steers a finish into the far corner to score his second goal of the game (Reuters)

Manchester City’s Abdukodir Khusanov scored an unfortunate own goal before Rafael Leao came off the bench to add a fifth, and to underline the depth of quality in this Portuguese squad. Try as he might – and he really tried – Ronaldo’s hat-trick moment never came.

Portugal have a testing match with Colombia still to come, and topping the group may yet prove important in a World Cup when most of the heavyweights look set to win theirs. But the wider context is that Portugal are contenders. In Vitinha, Joao Neves and Bruno Fernandes they have the best midfield at the tournament. They have the best left-back in the world.

And they have a natural goalscorer in a tournament where it would seem every strong side needs one. Ronaldo is not essential to Portugal in the way Messi is to Argentina. But in a team of abundant talent he can still be a sharp tool, an effective weapon. Even just by standing still.