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World Cup 2014 countdown: Ronaldo's comeback at the 2002 World Cup

Counting down the 100 greatest moments in the history of the World Cup

Simon Rice
Monday 24 March 2014 02:00 GMT
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The World Cup in Brazil is coming into view and everyone is hoping this summer's carnival can take its place among some of the great tournaments of the past.

That won't be easy though, as this series will testify. In the run-up to the tournament, we're counting down the 100 greatest World Cup moments.

Check out our latest instalment below, and for any you missed, see the gallery at the end of the article.

Ronaldo's comeback at the 2002 World Cup

The 1998 World Cup final was overshadowed by the strange circumstances surrounding Ronaldo's exclusion from, and then inclusion in, the starting line-up.

After a wonderful tournament, it was a sad end.

So when the next tournament came around, Ronaldo was desperate to shine, and shine he did. The goofy striker scored in every single game, except the 2-1 win over England in the quarter-finals.

He had four goals after the group stage and then had a hand in the 2-0 win over Belgium in the second round.

Sporting a ludicrous haircut, Ronaldo was to score the only goal in the semi-final win over Turkey before lining up in the final against Germany.

In the first half, he missed three gilt-edged chances. There were fears that his anonymous display in the 1998 final may be repeating itself.

But in the second half he scored the only two goals of the game. He ended with a tally of eight goals for the tournament, won the Golden Boot, and etched his name into World Cup folklore.

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