Dortmund, Germany – The spotlight was back on Ronaldo and this time he shined.
After a lackluster World Cup start, Ronaldo scored two goals Thursday night to lead Brazil to a 4-1 win over Japan to clinch first place in Group F.
“I have complete knowledge of my possibilities, of my condition,” Ronaldo said. “I knew I arrived at a level below my teammates, and that I would have to work really hard to reach them.”
Ronaldo admittedly arrived for the World Cup overweight and was criticized after sluggish performances in the early games.
The goals moved Ronaldo into a tie with Gerd Mueller of West Germany for the most goals in World Cup history with 14.
On Thursday, Ronaldo finally appeared close to top form. He tied the game at 1 with a header a minute into first-half injury time, moving past Pele as Brazil’s all-time leading World Cup scorer. He was set up by Real Madrid teammate Cicinho, who sent him the ball with a header across the area.
Ronaldo scored his second goal in the 81st, with a right-footer from 20 yards after a setup by defender Juan.
“Ronaldo is back,” Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said. “We believe he’s special. We must have confidence in our football, and today we played more like Brazilians.”
With its second-round berth already secured, Brazil fielded five reserve players and got goals from two of them, Juninho and Gilberto. But it was Ronaldo who was the star in Brazil’s record 10th consecutive World Cup victory.
“I’m very happy with my performance, with the two goals and with Brazil’s victory,” he said. “Now it’s time to rest and think about the round of 16.”
Brazil will play Ghana in the second round Tuesday in Dortmund.
Japan is headed home after finishing last in the group with one point, failing to repeat its second-round appearance when it co-hosted the 2002 Cup. The Japanese, coached by former Brazilian all-star Zico, needed to defeat the five-time champions to have any chance to advance.
“I’d love to have a player like Ronaldo on my team,” Zico said. “He’s the type of player who can smell a goal and he’s so dangerous when he gets in front of the goal.”
