‘I’m back’: Ronaldo’s relief after double kickstarts Portugal World Cup push

Cristiano Ronaldo savoured the end of a “difficult, dark week” after scoring twice in Portugal’s 5-0 rout of Uzbekistan and becoming the first player to find the net in six World Cups. Ronaldo and Portugal had come under heavy criticism after a flat draw against Democratic Republic of the Congo . There had been a particular spotlight on the 41-year-old Ronaldo, who had not scored in 10 major tournament games before Tuesday’s fixture. There have long been question marks over his continued ability to lead Portugal on this stage, but after the final whistle he shouted into a television camera: “I’m back, I’m back.” “God helps those who work hard,” Ronaldo said later. “It was a difficult, dark week; it felt like I’d already retired from football. But I held on as I always do because I believe more in hard work than in football. It was difficult, I have to admit, but we’re back. “It’s fine because when you think about it, it’s already 23 years I’ve been a professional and whenever things don’t go well it’s: ‘Cristiano, he’s finished, he’s old.’ But well, it was a good response from me and my teammates, which is what we wanted.” Ronaldo acknowledged his record, set the day after Lionel Messi became the World Cup’s highest scorer of all time , but paid tribute to Portugal’s collective recovery. “Very happy, but for me the most important thing is the work the team did, the confidence we had,” he said. “We took a lot of hits during the week, we knew that would happen. …