A 37-year-old unemployed man began his latest quest to conquer the world. Clubless but not goalless, Cristiano Ronaldo started in trademark fashion. His first goal as a free agent gave him yet another record, as the first player to score in five different World Cups. The milestones are testament to the astonishing longevity of the Portuguese who, for the second time, is a former Manchester United footballer. For Ronaldo, who extended his own record to 118 international goals, every celebration doubles up as vindication.
And yet Portugal’s winning start owed rather more to a compatriot United would not dream of releasing; to a footballer, indeed, who often plays better without Ronaldo. After Andre Ayew had levelled for Ghana, Bruno Fernandes conjured two assists in the space of three minutes, one after a lay-off from Ronaldo, but neither for him. Each was a defence-splitting pass for the quicker runner advancing from the flank. Joao Felix restored Portugal’s lead with a delicate dink. Rafael Leao extended it by angling a shot into the far corner. That Leao had only just come on and that Felix cost over £100m shows the depth of attacking talent at Fernando Santos’s disposal. For some, it calls Ronaldo’s primacy into question.
