Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score in six different World Cups Portugal reduced to a comfortable 5-0 victory Uzbekistan revive their campaign and climb to the top of Group K.
The Portugal captain put in a clinical performance with two first-half goals as Portugal responded strongly to criticism following a disappointing 1-1 draw against DR Congo in their tournament opener.
Ronaldo scored just six minutes into the game in Houston, meeting João Cancelo’s cross with a low strike to give Portugal an early lead.
With that goal, the 41-year-old became the first footballer to score in six different World Cup tournaments. He also became the second oldest player to score at the World Cup, behind Roger Milla.
Ronaldo leads Portugal’s response
After the breakthrough, Portugal continued to dominate and doubled the lead in the 17th minute when Nuno Mendes found the back of the net directly from a free kick.
Uzbekistan briefly thought they had reduced the deficit through Aziz G’aniev, but the effort was ruled out after a build-up foul was flagged.
Ronaldo then scored his second goal of the night six minutes before half-time. After winning possession in the middle of the pitch, Bruno Fernandes released the veteran striker, who calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner.
Portugal cruises to victory
The second half brought more misery to the World Cup debutants as goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov deflected the ball into his own net while trying to win a Bruno Fernandes corner kick.
Substitute Rafael Leão scored late on with a powerful finish to seal a convincing win.
The result lifts Portugal to the top of Group K and boosts their hopes of reaching the knockout stages.
Ronaldo is approaching another record
The historic double took Ronaldo’s World Cup goals tally to 10 goals in six tournaments.
While Argentina captain Lionel Messi recently became the competition’s all-time leading goalscorer with 18 goals, Ronaldo added another milestone to his remarkable international career by becoming the first player to score in six separate editions of football’s biggest tournament.
