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Studs Up! live on SN ExtraFIFA live: "Genius doubted" Ronaldo silences his critics
SEN • June 24th, 2026 8:02 am
- Portugal 5-0 Uzbekistan
- England 0-0 Ghana
- Panama v Croatian 9am AEST
- Colombia v DR Congo
World Cup daily news. We will bring you the latest from around the world as the FIFA World Cup 2026™ finally gets under way (All times AEST).
Portugal have arrived:
Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal have finally arrived at the World Cup. A 1-1 draw with DR Congo in the opening match had many questioning the 41-year-old's spot in the team and whether Roberto Martinez was "too scared" to leave him out.
His decision validated this morning with Ronaldo scoring twice in their 5-0 demolition of Uzbekistan which will all but secure them a spot in the knock outs.
Not to miss out on the action, Ronaldo's brace follows a day of incredible goal scoring from Lionel Messi (2), Kylian Mbappe (2) and Erling Haaland (2).
Amid the criticism and doubters, Ronaldo ran up to the cameras at the full-time whistle and shouted: "I'm back, I'm back!"
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane backed his old teammate saying: "Cristiano Ronaldo was never gone. He is the man. What is up with everybody? Doubted genius.
"We met Tom Brady the other day. He is up there with all these sports people. He's the man. Great to see him back. His two goals were excellent.
"Again, he has joined the party. The hardest point of the game is putting the ball in the back of the net. And he does."
Another ex-teammate from Old Trafford, Wayne Rooney echoed Keane's sentiments: "With all the other top players scoring goals at this tournament, at 41 to score two goals at the World Cup is incredible. He didn't have the best game but this is what he does. He's taken a bit of criticism and this is how he responds.
"He has done that his whole career. He wants to be the best at whast he does and he's always been like that. When the other forwards and attacking players are scoring goals, he wants to top that list.
"His response here is exactly what you'd expect from him. He's selfish in terms of he wants to be the best, but he is a team player also. To watch Messi last night and Ronaldo tonight at their age, it's incredible what they are doing."
