AP – Cristiano Ronaldo (AP, pic below) is feeling at home again.
It took only two games for him to make his peace with Portugal’s national team and show he is not done impressing at the international level just yet.
In his return after a disappointing World Cup and a controversial move to Saudi football, the 38-year-old Ronaldo scored four goals in Portugal’s first two games in 2024 European Championship qualifying, showing he remains the leader that fans got used to seeing wearing the national team’s red and green uniform.
Ronaldo netted twice in the 6-0 rout of Luxembourg on Sunday, three days after scoring another brace in the 4-0 win over Liechtenstein, when he became the men’s player with the most international appearances with 197.
“Two games, two victories,” the Portugal captain said on his social media accounts after the win at Luxembourg.
”Happy to have contributed to a very positive start by our national team. Let’s go.”
The goals came against European minnows but seemed to be enough to restore Ronaldo’s confidence and his role as a starter with the national team.
Ronaldo was in tears the last time he left the field with Portugal following a loss to Morocco in the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Qatar last year.
