Portugal’s captain Cristiano Ronaldo, said a knockout World Cup match against his long-time rival Lionel Messi would be awesome. Ronaldo and Portugal finally arrived at the quadrennial event as the team registered a comprehensive 5-0 win against Uzbekistan on Tuesday.
Ronaldo, who was criticised a lot for his performance against DR Congo in the opening game of the tournament, was back to his absolute best. The veteran striker opened the scoring for his team in the sixth minute with a one-touch finish after an assist from João Cancelo.
Nuno Mendes doubled Portugal’s lead with a perfect free-kick whereas Ronaldo scored his second goal before half-time when Bruno Fernandes found him with precision.
Uzbekistan’s goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov scored an own goal right after the break, whereas Rafael Leao scored the fifth goal after coming in from the bench.
“I don’t know how to answer that,” Ronaldo said, speaking to journalists after the game, when asked about facing long-term rival Messi. “But, well, it would be awesome.
“The most important thing was today, winning to advance, and being ready for what’s next … The main goal was to advance from the group stage, and we did it.”
Portugal had received a lot of flak after their 1-1 draw against DR Congo and Ronaldo’s place in the starting XI was also questioned by many experts.
“It was a very tough and difficult week, with public opinion being very harsh on all the players, especially on me and the coach [Roberto Martinez],” Ronaldo said. “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.”
CR7 further added that the team’s unity is of utmost importance for him.
“The most important thing is the team, being united with them,” Ronaldo said. “We can’t control the rest that comes from outside. We know that when we don’t win, we get attacked, especially me.”
Portugal will face Colombia in their final group game in Miami Gardens on Saturday.
