The camera is inches from his face, Portugal have just won 5-0, and Cristiano Ronaldo has one thing to say: "I'm back, I'm back." Ten major tournament games without a goal. A lifeless draw against DR Congo. A week of headlines that, by his own admission, made it feel as though he had already retired.

On Tuesday in Lisbon, all of it was answered in a single night. Ronaldo scored twice to become the first player in history to score at six separate World Cups — a record set, with exquisite timing, just one day after Lionel Messi claimed the title of the tournament's all-time top scorer. Asked about his rival's milestone, Ronaldo was blunt: "I don't care about Messi." He cares, it seems, only about what happens next.

"It was a difficult, dark week; it felt like I'd already retired from football," the 41-year-old admitted afterwards. "But I held on, as I always do, because I believe more in hard work than in talent." The criticism had been fierce, and Ronaldo knows the script by now. "Whenever things don't go well it's: 'Cristiano, he's finished, he's old,'" he said.

"But it was a good response — from me and from my teammates." Coach Roberto Martínez, who called Ronaldo a "perfect captain" throughout the storm, was careful to frame the evening as a collective resurgence rather than a one-man rescue act. Four points from two games means Portugal are close to securing a place in the knockout rounds. Whether this win transforms them into genuine contenders remains an open question — and Ronaldo, who has chased a first World Cup title for two decades, knows it better than anyone.