Portugal 5-0 Uzbekistan: Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice for Portugal and announced his place in the 2026 World Cup in style after a disappointing opening game.
Ronaldo scores twice as Portugal beat Uzbekistan (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Welcome to the World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo.
After a crushing defeat in Portugal’s first match against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ronaldo came back to life and put his country back on track with a dominant performance as they defeated Fabio Cannavaro’s Uzbekistan 5-0.
And was anyone expecting anything else? He is a 41-year-old genius who has proven his doubters wrong time and time again. Still, it doesn’t hurt again. With these two goals, Ronaldo now has 145 goals in 230 appearances for the national team.
Great rival Lionel Messi scored twice on Tuesday night to extend his World Cup tally to 18, taking Miroslav Klose’s perfect record in Argentina’s win over Austria and sealing his place as the greatest player of all time.
At this tournament, the number of Barcelona icons increased to five, and all eyes were on whether Ronaldo would live up to that. And he answered yes. He scored the goal after just six minutes, becoming the first player in history to score in six World Cups.
Former Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo darted down the right flank and lofted a perfect cross just inches away for Ronaldo to slot home for the first time. It happened just after he narrowly missed contact from Nuno Mendes’ cross from the opposite flank.
Eleven minutes later, it looked like Ronaldo would double his tally. Taking his free kick, Mendes struck his trademark pose 20 yards from goal and fired a low shot past Uzbekistan keeper Abduvohid Nematov.
Nematov should have done better, but in defense I expected Ronaldo to almost certainly take it. We all were.
Just before the half-hour mark, the small players thought they had a foothold in the game when Aziz Ganiev curled a stunning effort into the top corner from 25 yards.
However, after consultation with VAR, the referee was called to the pitchside monitor and ruled that Avosbek Faizulaev had fouled Cancelo while collecting the ball in the build-up.
Ronaldo scored his second goal six minutes before half-time with a superb pass from Bruno Fernandes that was reminiscent of much of what we have seen this season at Manchester United. Ronaldo took his first shot from the inside left channel, low and hard past the goalkeeper.
Ronaldo insists on participating in the 2026 World Cup (Image: Getty Images)
Although the game was over, Ronaldo was no doubt aiming for a hat-trick to get back into the Golden Boot race.
Then, with an hour left, Fernandes had a great chance with a free-kick, but Nematov darted off his line and made a deft save.
However, that was a good thing for Uzebkistan’s keeper, as after a scramble for the goal, Fernandes’ corner kick went into the back of the net and was ruled an own goal.
Ronaldo had the next chance by hitting Nematov’s pocket from a clearance, but the goalkeeper recovered and blocked the powerful shot.
Rafael Leao scored the goal after Nelson Semedo’s deflected cross fell into the goal.
The result moves Portugal into first place in Group K ahead of Colombia vs Congo later tonight. After a week of rumors of infighting within Portugal’s camp, everyone here seemed to be on the same page.
Portugal and Colombia will meet on Saturday night in what is likely to be a head-to-head battle for top spot.
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