Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘200 IQ Play’ in Portugal vs Uzbekistan Praised

Having also produced news content for HITC Sport and Read Liverpool, he has created a wide range of content for GMS, including news, opinion, features, lists and viral sport content.

His passion for sports extends further than football, as he has covered several sports for GMS, including Boxing, Tennis, and Wrestling. Sign in to your GiveMeSport account Cristiano Ronaldo silenced the doubters in emphatic style during Portugal's World Cup clash with Uzbekistan. The 41-year-old scored a first-half brace after a week of discussion about whether he should be starting games.

His opening goal came with some clever movement and a brilliant finish from Joao Cancelo's low cross. Ronaldo proved his intelligence inside the penalty area is still at the highest level.

Lineker thinks four players in football history are greater than Cristiano Ronaldo.

He doubled his tally shortly before half-time after latching onto a perfectly-timed Bruno Fernandes pass to slot past the goalkeeper with ease. Despite proving his prowess in front of goal once again, many were more impressed with a goal he technically had no part in.

Many were fooled into believing Ronaldo would take on a free-kick on the edge of the opposition's penalty area after confidently putting away his first goal. After all, he's one of the highest-scoring players from those situations in history.

Instead, he stepped aside and allowed Nuno Mendes to rifle the ball past the goalkeeper, who appeared caught off-guard by the fact the Al-Nassr forward didn't take it. His mere presence wasn't the only thing that fooled him into thinking that, either.

It would have been easy for viewers to miss it, but Ronaldo reportedly made his frustrations about the Uzbekistan wall inching forward very clear to the referee. By telling the wall to keep their distance, it looked even more certain he'd be the one taking the shot on.

But still, Mendes was given a gap to hit a powerful effort into the net and double Portugal's lead. Ronaldo quickly pointed to his head, seemingly proving the '200+ IQ play'.

Football fans were quick to jump onto social media and praise the talisman, drawing all the attention to himself, something he's often criticised for. However, this time it benefitted the team and Mendes scored an excellent free-kick.

"Even without touching the ball, Ronaldo still shaped the outcome of the play," one X user said. Another added that the striker played mind games with his opponents: "The mind games before the ball even moved. Ronaldo really used his own aura as a weapon."

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Some were more emphatic in their response to the tactic, with one saying: "THE GOAT DOESN’T PLAY FOOTBALL... HE PLAYS CHESS." Then FIFA were even urged to give him an assist, which seems a bit too far: "Non-contact assist. Make FIFA add am to his goal contribution asap."