Cristiano Ronaldos sister says the Portugal captain was targeted by heartless words in a bid to erase who he is before the five-time Ballon dOr winner became the first player to score at six World Cup tournaments.The oldest outfield player at the finals had gone five games without a World Cup goal and scored once in his previous eight appearances at the tournament before striking twice as part of his sides 5-0 win over Uzbekistan in Houston on Tuesday.This week has been tough, said Katia Aveiro. Its been a dark week full of unfair criticism and heartless words thrown at each other, as if they were trying to erase careers built on sweat, pain, discipline and inexplicable willpower.They wanted to hurt, they wanted to inflict pain, they wanted to humiliate. They wanted to talk about Cristiano as if he no longer had a place, as if his career was over, as if everything he gave to football, Portugal and the world could be forgotten overnight.They forgot that he was a man, a son, a father, a brother and simply a human being. It was disgusting to read and hear so much barbarity and ingratitude.Table of ContentsWorld Cup 2026: Cristiano Ronaldo pressurePortugal vs Uzbekistan: Ronaldo a legendWorld Cup 2026: What Ronaldo said about PortugalWorld Cup 2026: Portugal fixturesCristiano Ronaldo World Cup scheduleWorld Cup 2026: Cristiano Ronaldo pressureRonaldo is the all-time top international scorer but had his second-fewest touches ever in a World Cup match as Portugal drew their opener 1-1 with DR Congo, taking possession 25 times as part of a team who had one attempt on target.Head coach Roberto Martinez has repeatedly defended his selection of the 41-year-old, who is his countrys record 145-goal scorer.Unsurprisingly, he responded as he always did on the pitch, said Aveiro. With tenacity. With fury in his eyes.With the strength of a man born to fight. With the heart of a warrior who never shied away from work, never gave up. He was always under pressure and never let outside noise define who he was.This is Cristiano Ronaldo. Son of Dolores and Dinis. Brother of Katia, Hugo, and Elma. A family man, a tireless worker, a top-level professional, an athlete who has made the dreams of millions come true and continues to rise every time someone tries to put him down.They may criticise, they may doubt, they may try to belittle him. But they will never be able to erase who he is: a fighter, a leader, an example of loyalty, discipline, and courage.Portugal vs Uzbekistan: Ronaldo a legendOnly nine players have bettered Ronaldos total of 10 goals at the tournament, although fellow modern greats Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe lead the all-time scorer standings.Argentina skipper Messi has five goals at the current edition to take his tally to 18 and sit two ahead of France icon Kylian Mbappe, who has four goals at the 2026 tournament and is joint-second in the history books alongside former Germany hotshot Miroslav Klose.Again, he didnt need grand speeches, Aveiro said of the Al-Nassr talisman, who scored 30 goals in all competitions last season and won the Saudi Pro League despite going on a mid-season strike for two matches.He came to show why he was here. He spent 23 years breaking barriers and he came to show us why he deserves to be here.He came to remind us why hes a legend. No matter what happens, this is destined for him. They should know it by now.Im proud of you, my brother. Always. Until the day I die. Because I know where you come from, I know everything you fought for to get here, I know very well what is in store for you.Real people never remain silent. Real people respond with work. And you, my brother, are and always will be a great man.World Cup 2026: What Ronaldo said about PortugalRonaldo claimed he does not care about his rival strikers and said the criticism Portugal had faced had been difficult and very strong, especially towards me.A great virtue is being able to control yourself, he added. Thats what I try to do. I have 23 or 24 years of experience and I can handle it well.Before the game I talked about some insights I had, because criticism always comes as an opportunity to improve.Today I was the best player on the pitch, tomorrow it will be someone else. If we are united, we can go very far, he added.The five-time Champions League winner dismissed an enquiry about a potential final against Argentina.I dont know what to answer, as its a meaningless question, he responded. It would be great but the most important thing was to win to get through the group and be prepared for whats to come.We have a difficult game against Colombia but the important thing was to get through the group and we did.I helped the team, which played very well, and we move on. We improved, thats life.There are setbacks in life, in games, and we always want to improve public opinion was very harsh on us, especially on me and the coach, but Ive been in this profession for 23 years.When everything is going well, Cristiano is doing well. When things go wrong, hes old, hes retired.I always [make an impact]. Sooner or later, Im there. I truly believe in what I do. My career has always been like this.World Cup 2026: Portugal fixturesHeres the full confirmed and potential schedule for Ronaldo at the FIFA World Cup 2026. You can also find out the UK TV schedule for the games here.DateMatchResultStageTime (BST)ETPTChannelJune 17DR Congo1-1Group18:0013:0010:00BBCJune 23Uzbekistan5-0Group18:0013:0010:00ITVJune 28ColombiaGroup00:3019:3016:30BBCJuly 1/2/3TBCRound of 32TBCTBCTBCTBCJuly 5/6/7TBCRound of 16TBCTBCTBCTBCJuly 10/11TBCQuarter-finalsTBCTBCTBCTBCJuly 14/15TBCSemi-finalsTBCTBCTBCTBCJuly 18TBCThird-placed match22:0017:0014:00TBCJuly 19TBCFinal20:0015:0012:00BBC, ITVCristiano Ronaldo World Cup scheduleShould Portugal justify their status as favourites to win their group, they will face a third-placed team from group D, E, I, J or L in the last 32.Ronaldos team will meet the runners-up from that section if they come second and the team that wins it if they advance as one of the best-performing third-placed teams.Group L contains England, Croatia, Ghana and Panama. You can see the full bracket on FIFAs site. Topics 2026 FIFA World Cup Cristiano Ronaldo FIFA World Cup Portugal National Football Team World Cup World Cup 2026 Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read World Cup 2026: Full fixtures, dates, games, schedule and results from FIFA football finals Ben Miller 24th June, 2026 Ancelotti teases Neymar fitness: I can walk for 90 minutes Ben Miller 24th June, 2026 Switzerland v Canada: World Cup 2026 line-ups, stats and preview, TV channel, live online stream and prediction Ben Miller 24th June, 2026 Portugal v Uzbekistan: Live commentary, updates, goals and stats as it happened as Ronaldo scores twice in win Jon Fisher 24th June, 2026 Lionel Messi: World Cup 2026 playing schedule, fixtures, kick off times, where to watch, confirmed news updates and full Argentina squad Ben Miller 24th June, 2026 World Cup 2026: Full list of confirmed teams, fixtures, groups and results Ben Miller 24th June, 2026
