Keane hails Ronaldo after record sixth World Cup scoring tournament: 'Why would you ever doubt him?'

Cristiano Ronaldo silenced any lingering doubts about his World Cup relevance by netting twice against Uzbekistan, becoming the first player in history to score at six separate World Cup tournaments — and his former Manchester United team-mate Roy Keane was quick to offer his verdict at half-time.

The goals arrived a week into Portugal’s campaign, with Ronaldo making his presence felt just 24 hours after Lionel Messi set a new record for the most goals scored at a single World Cup. Keane, speaking as a pundit, drew the obvious parallel between the two rivals before turning his focus to what he had just witnessed.

“It is amazing: Messi becomes the man with the most goals in a World Cup, and Ronaldo now becomes the first man to score in six World Cups,” Keane said. “Why would you ever doubt him? The guy’s an amazing, amazing player; his stats are fantastic.”

Keane was particularly struck by the combination of Ronaldo’s clinical finishing and the visible emotion that followed. “There are no surprises here: no surprises that he would turn up today. If you give him some good delivery and he hangs around there long enough, it’s a brilliant finish. Obviously, he has that immense confidence, and it’s amazing what he’s done in the game of football over the last 20-odd years, but you can still see the relief from him there. It tells you how much he cares about the game.”

Ronaldo came close to a second-ever World Cup hat-trick when a free-kick presented itself, but team-mate Nuno Mendes stepped up and took the shot himself. Keane offered a characteristically sharp reading of the situation, suggesting Ronaldo’s restraint was calculated rather than selfless.

“Everybody would be expecting Ronaldo to take this,” Keane said. “I think I’m the only one who didn’t think he’d be taking it, as it was better suited to a left-footer. Ronaldo had already got his goal, obviously. I think if he hadn’t scored yet, he’d be thinking, ‘I’m taking this,’ but he leaves it to his team-mates.”

Mendes’ effort found the net, with Keane noting that the Uzbekistan goalkeeper was partly distracted by Ronaldo’s presence on the ball. “The goalkeeper is obviously on his heels, probably distracted by Ronaldo,” he added. “Listen, he’s obviously not a top-level goalkeeper. But Portugal are up and running.”