'I'm back': Ronaldo delights in silencing critics

Houston: Cristiano Ronaldo declared “I’m back” and said those “attacking” him should never write him off after making FIFA World Cup history in a 5-0 defeat of Uzbekistan on Tuesday in Houston.

The 41-year-old, under pressure to deliver after a barren recent run at major tournaments, pounced after six minutes to become the first player to score in six FIFA World Cup campaigns. cricket-ipl.in

He added a second with a smart finish before half-time as Roberto Martinez’s side revived their campaign.

The five-star display was in stark contrast to a stale 1-1 draw with the Congo DR in which Ronaldo was laboured and largely anonymous.

That sparked renewed calls in some quarters for Martinez to drop the veteran captain, with Ronaldo, the coach and the team all facing flak at home.

Ronaldo shouted into a television camera “I’m back, I’m back”, and said after his two-goal display: “I can say it was a very tough week, a difficult week, a week in which public opinion was very harsh on us, on all the players, especially on the coach.”

“But it’s always like that, 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, the leading scorer in men’s international history with 145 goals, has been compared unfavourably with the likes of nemesis Lionel Messi and other star forwards such as Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane so far at the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Put to him that he had now joined the party in North America, Ronaldo said: “I always arrive, even if it’s later, but I’m there.

“So, it’s about continuing my work, I truly believe in what I do. My career has always been like this, it wasn’t going to change.”

He told Martinez and his teammates, who are on the cusp of the last 32, to ignore the outside criticism.

“Because we know that when we don’t play well or don’t win we’re always attacked, especially me,” he said. “But as I said before, I’m already used to it and I carry on.”

The Spaniard Martinez, who has defiantly stuck with Ronaldo no matter what, said he understood the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star’s reaction at the end of the game.

“He’s a human being. I think he’s allowed to have emotions, he’s allowed to have feelings,” he said.

Martinez said Ronaldo’s dedication, drive and hard work was how he had extended his career into middle age.

“I’ve never worked with a player that has got that capacity - that whatever happens today, tomorrow is going to be the hungriest player to improve,” he said of Ronaldo, who now plays for Al Nassr Club in Saudi Arabia. AFC.

Zamalek have expressed interest in Spanish coach Pablo Franco, but his agent says the Egyptian champions have not submitted an offer.

Zamalek have reportedly shown interest in appointing Spanish coach Pablo Franco, but contact has taken place only through intermediaries and no official offer has been submitted, his agent said.

Hamid Bouzidi said that Zamalek are among three clubs interested in Franco. The other clubs are Moroccan sides Wydad Casablanca and RS Berkane.

“Zamalek have only contacted us through intermediaries, and we have not received any official offer so far,” Bouzidi said.

Franco left Maghreb de Fes after leading the club to the 2025-26 Moroccan league title. The championship ended a 41-year wait for the club’s fifth domestic league crown.

The White Knights are considering appointing a foreign coach to replace Motamed Gamal, although the club has not formally announced Gamal’s departure or named a successor.

Gamal’s position has remained uncertain since the end of the season. He had been waiting for the board to decide whether he would continue as head coach or join the staff of a foreign replacement.

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The Egyptian coach received offers from clubs outside Egypt but delayed a decision while awaiting clarification from Zamalek, according to local reports.

Gamal led Zamalek to the 2025-26 Egyptian Premier League title, the club’s 15th championship and its first in three seasons.

He also took Zamalek to the CAF Confederation Cup final. The Cairo side lost to USM Alger in a penalty shootout after the two legs finished 1-1 on aggregate.

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قلبت الأرجنتين، حاملة اللقب، الطاولة على إنكلترا وتغلبت عليها 2-1 بهدفين متأخرين، لتبلغ نهائي مونديال 2026 في كرة القدم الأربعاء في أتلانتا.

وكانت إنكلترا في طريقها إلى بلوغ النهائي الثاني في تاريخها بعد عام 1966 عندما توجت بلقبها الوحيد، بعدما تقدمت بهدف أنتوني غوردون (55)، لكن الأرجنتين فعلتها كما درجت العادة في مبارياتها الثلاث الأخيرة بقلب الطاولة بهدفين لإنسو فرنانديس (85) والبديل لاوتارو مارتينيس (90+1) اثر تمريرتين حاسمتين من القائد والهداف التاريخي للمونديال ليونيل ميسي.

وتلتقي الأرجنتين التي بلغت النهائي الثاني تواليا والسابع في تاريخها في سعيها إلى اللقب الرابع بعد 1978 و1986 و2022، في المباراة النهائية الأحد المقبل على ملعب ميتلايف في إيست راذرفورد بضواحي نيويورك، مع إسبانيا التي تغلبت على فرنسا الوصيفة 2-0 الثلاثاء في دالاس.

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