Over the past week, Cristiano Ronaldo has watched Lionel Messi bag five goals in two games. He's seen Kylian Mbappe score four and Erling Haaland add four of his own. Ronaldo has heard that he was washed up, that he no longer belonged in their league. There were even suggestions that Ronaldo, a five-time winner of the Ballon d'Or and international soccer's all-time record goal scorer, was a liability to his country.

过去一周，C罗目睹了莱昂内尔·梅西在两场比赛中攻入五球。 他看到了基利安·姆巴佩打进四球，厄林·哈兰德也收获四球。 C罗听到有人说他状态下滑，说他不再属于他们的行列。 甚至有人提出，这位五届金球奖得主、国际足坛历史总进球纪录保持者，已经成了国家队的累赘。

As it turns out, reports of Ronaldo's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

事实证明，关于C罗已走下坡路的报道被大大夸大了。

On Tuesday, in Portugal's second game here, Ronaldo arrived fashionably late to the party with two goals of his own and a message to the rest of the planet.

周二，在葡萄牙队在这里的第二场比赛中，C罗姗姗来迟，用两粒进球向地球上的其他人传递了一个信息。

"I'm back," he said straight into a TV camera after the 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan. "I'm back."

“我回来了，”在5比0战胜乌兹别克斯坦队后，他对着电视镜头直截了当地说道。 “我回来了。”

At 41 years old, Ronaldo represents a living, breathing, preening conundrum for his national team. There is no question that he is diminished from the lethal finisher and all-around menace he was in his prime. He is a step slower, his touch occasionally lets him down. In Portugal's first match, against the Democratic Republic of Congo, he didn't even manage a shot on target. But now, with his star power intact, Ronaldo is also the first man in history to score at six different World Cups.

41岁的C罗对于他的国家队来说，是一个活生生的、会呼吸的、爱炫耀的难题。 毫无疑问，与巅峰时期那个致命的终结者和全方位的威胁相比，他已经有所衰退。 他慢了一步，他的触球感觉偶尔也会失灵。 在葡萄牙队对阵刚果民主共和国的首场比赛中，他甚至没有一次射正球门。 但现在，随着他的明星影响力依然完好无损，C罗也成为历史上第一位在六届不同世界杯中都有进球的球员。

"It was a difficult week, a dark week," he told Portuguese television after the match. "It seemed like I was already retired from football. But I held on, as always, because I believe in hard work. It was difficult, I have to admit, but we're back."

“这是艰难的一周，黑暗的一周，”他在赛后接受葡萄牙电视台采访时说道。 “好像我已经从足坛退役了。 但我坚持了下来，一如既往，因为我相信努力付出。 这很艰难，我必须承认，但我们回来了。”

To the droves of Portuguese fans who packed NRG Stadium just to lay eyes on him, Ronaldo had never left. During the warm-ups, they met each of his practice strikes with his signature "Siuuu." Every time he appeared on the giant screen, the volume in the building went up. And 6 minutes into the game, he delivered what they were hoping for: a first goal in his last 10 games at major tournaments.

对于蜂拥而至、挤满NRG体育场只为亲眼目睹他风采的众多葡萄牙球迷来说，C罗从未离开过。 在热身期间，他们用他那标志性的“Siuuu”来回应他的每一次射门练习。每当他出现在大屏幕上时，球场内的音量就会升高。 比赛进行到第六分钟，他送出了他们期盼已久的东西：他在最近十场重大赛事中的首粒进球。

Thirty-three minutes later, Ronaldo added a second, by running onto a through ball from Bruno Fernandes and guiding it home at the far post.

33分钟后，C罗再入一球，他接应布鲁诺·费尔南德斯的直塞球，在远门柱将球送入网窝。

In reality, with or without the goal drought, Tuesday's match was always going to be a game for him. Ronaldo has scored against everyone in his seemingly endless career, with 145 goals in 230 appearances for Portugal. But he rarely misses the chance to feast on minnows. This is, after all, a player who has scored 10 times in his life against Luxembourg and nine times against Hungary.

实际上，无论有没有进球荒，周二的比赛对他来说始终都意义非凡。 在他看似永无止境的职业生涯中，C罗几乎对阵过所有球队并取得进球，他为葡萄牙队出场230次，打入145球。 但他很少错过在弱旅身上进球的机会。 毕竟，这是一个职业生涯中十次攻破卢森堡球门、九次攻破匈牙利球门的球员。

Just as remarkable against Uzbekistan, however, was a moment when he didn't score.

然而，在对阵乌兹别克斯坦的比赛中，同样引人注目的，却是一个他没有进球的时刻。

In the 17th minute, Portugal had won a free kick on the edge of the box, and the entire stadium was certain of what would happen next. Ronaldo stood over the ball and began sizing it up. They had seen this routine a million times over the past 20 years. The wide stance. The deep breaths. The laser focus. Some 68,800 witnesses were convinced that one of the greatest marksmen of all time was going to run-up and smash it. That included Uzbekistan's goalkeeper.

第十七分钟，葡萄牙队在禁区边缘获得一个任意球，整个体育场都确信接下来会发生什么。 C罗站在球前，开始打量起来。 在过去的二十年里，他们无数次看到过这套流程。 宽大的站姿。 深呼吸。 全神贯注。 大约68,800名现场观众确信，史上最伟大的射手之一将要助跑并大力射门。 这其中包括乌兹别克斯坦的门将。

What no one had imagined was a designed set piece that wouldn't end with Ronaldo shooting. Instead, defender Nuno Mendes sprinted in and drove a low, left-footed strike into the bottom of the net. And Ronaldo, the billion-dollar decoy, celebrated by pointing at his head. The man who had conquered soccer was showing the crowd that he might just be a chess master too.

没有人预料到的，是一个精心设计的定位球配合，而最终射门的不是C罗。 相反，后卫努诺·门德斯高速插上，用左脚低射打入球门死角。 而C罗，这位价值连城的诱饵，则指着自己的头来庆祝。 这个征服了足球的男人正在向人群展示，他或许也是一位棋局大师。

Ronaldo then spent the entire second half hunting for his hat trick. The opportunity came in stoppage time, when he slid at full stretch to meet a cross, only for his effort to go wide. Moments later, the final whistle sounded and Ronaldo delivered his statement to the cameras.

随后，C罗在整个下半场都在寻找上演帽子戏法的机会。 机会在伤停补时阶段到来，他全力滑铲试图接应传中，但射门偏出球门。 片刻之后，终场哨声响起，C罗对着镜头发表了他的宣言。

It might only be the group stage. It might only be Uzbekistan. But Ronaldo, undoubtedly, had arrived at this World Cup.

这可能只是小组赛。 可能只是乌兹别克这可能只是乌兹别克斯坦队。 但毫无疑问，C罗已经来到了这届世界杯。

"It's so people don't forget," he said.

“这是为了让大家不要忘记，”他说道。