For two short moments he was quite the same again. In the 51st minute, Cristiano Ronaldo confidently converted a penalty into the left corner. In the 63rd minute, he provided with a dry converted free kick for the 4-0 final score against Liechtenstein. Both times the entire arena in Lisbon cheered with him, both times Portugal's old star was relieved on his face.
"It's such a good feeling to play for our Seleção again and score goals," the 38-year-old wrote on Instagram after the European Championship qualifier. He had also set a world record on this Thursday evening. Ronaldo now has 197 caps on his record – no player in the world has ever played more often for a national team. He was "proud," wrote the star of the Saudi club Al Nassr. So everything as usual? No.
"This means everything to me"
Because apart from his two standard goals, the attacker had hardly appeared against the blatant outsider. The veteran can still provide his team with added value. But his role is changing. In the 78th minute, the new coach Roberto Martínez replaced him, Ronaldo accepted the decision without hesitation. Gonçalo Ramos came into play, the 21-year-old had already taken Ronaldo's previously undisputed regular place at the World Cup in Qatar.
Only in the coming weeks and months will we see how Ronaldo deals with his new status. Martínez has made no secret of the fact that he continues to rely on him and his vast experience. But it wouldn't be a surprise if the Spaniard leaves him out for the next game in Luxembourg on Sunday – and lets Ramos storm from the start. How Ronaldo would behave then remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, England's sole record scorer Harry Kane has processed his frustration after the World Cup directly in the first following competitive game in the best possible way. His 54th goal, with which he finally passed Wayne Rooney in the 2-1 win at Italy on Thursday evening, overwhelmed the 29-year-old Tottenham Hotspur centre-forward. "That means everything to me."
He had experienced "a magical moment" in Naples. "It had to be a penalty and when the ball hit the net, it was huge emotions for me," Kane said. At the World Cup in December, he had missed a penalty against France in the quarter-finals, the Three Lions were then eliminated 1-2.
"Kane is an England legend"
In the dressing room, the team presented a jersey with the number 54 and the name "record breaker", Kane received a large framed photo with memories. Rooney, whose previous record of 53 goals is now history, wrote: "I knew it wouldn't take long, but it happened really quickly. Great man, incredible goalscorer and an England legend."
Head coach Gareth Southgate was also enthusiastic about his leading player. "The fact that he has broken the record in light of recent history is a sign of his strength of character and mentality," Southgate said. Kane and England played strong tournaments at the 2018 World Cup (semi-finals), Euro 2021 (final) and the 2022 World Cup (quarter-finals), but are still waiting for their first title since 1966. The opening victory in Italy was a first step towards Euro 2024 in Germany.