Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – Group K – Portugal v Uzbekistan – Houston Stadium, Houston, Texas, U.S. – June 23, 2026 Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring their third goal IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Maria Lysaker
Portugal’s World Cup hopes are back on after a comprehensive 5-0 thrashing of debutants Uzbekistan on Tuesday afternoon in Houston.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened his ledger at the competition after watching his constituents like Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland get off to flying starts on North American soil, scoring twice in the first half.
This World Cup has certainly been a tournament of goals already. Ronaldo is already the 19th player at this year’s tournament to score multiple goals, compared to 31 players across the entire 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
With it comes the easing of Portuguese tensions after a shocking draw in its Group K opener last week against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which raised significant red flags about manager Roberto Martinez’s tactics, and led many to question if the 41-year-old Ronaldo should even be in the starting lineup.
But Ronaldo quieted those critics almost immediately, getting on the end of a Joao Cancelo cross from the right and sending a right-footed one-timed shot inside the near post.
With it, he became the first man to ever score at six different World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026).
Ronaldo played the decoy for Portugal’s second in the 17th minute, lining up for a free kick just outside the penalty area. While he stood over the ball in his imposing stance — and everyone in the stadium expected him to take it — defender Nuno Mendes quickly stepped up and sent a left-footed shot past the outstretched right arm of a diving Abduvohid Nematov, who should have done better.
Ronaldo’s second did come in the 39th minute when he was played through on the break by Bruno Fernandes into the right of the penalty area. He poked his chance into the bottom-left corner of the goal to make it 3-0.
It increased his career World Cup total to 10, passing the great Eusabio for the most by a Portuguese player.
He nearly capped off a blistering first-half hat trick in the sixth minute of stoppage time 45+6 when he chipped a centering feed over Nematov, but it was cleared off the line by Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov.
Joao Felix’s touch on a Portugal corner clanged off the hand of Nematov and into the Uzbekistan net for an own-goal in the 60th minute. Rafael Leao capped off Portugal’s big day with a rocket in the 87th minute.
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