"In the next game I hope to do things a bit better."

Ronaldo lumbered around the pitch against Croatia looking off the pace and struggling to control the simplest of passes, a performance similar to the dazed one he produced in the 1998 final in Paris.

This season has been an unhappy one for Ronaldo.

He was hindered by a series of nagging injuries and his relationship with the fans at his club Real Madrid deteriorated.

Ronaldo's World Cup preparations were also interrupted by blisters on his feet and a brief sinus infection.

He has become increasingly exasperated at suggestions he is overweight and became upset when Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva joined the speculation, asking if he was fat during a video conference with the team last Thursday.

The President later sent a letter of apology.