FIFA WC: Ronaldo's brace headlines Portugal's 5-0 win over Uzbekistan
What's the story
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a stunning brace to help Portugal crush Uzbekistan 5-0 in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group K clash on Tuesday. The match, held in Houston, saw the Portuguese superstar break several major records. He surpassed Eusebio to become his country's all-time leading World Cup scorer and became the first player ever to score in six editions of the tournament.
Match highlights
Portugal went two goals up inside 20 minutes
Ronaldo opened the scoring for Portugal in the sixth minute, converting a cutback from Joao Cancelo at the near post. Eleven minutes later, Nuno Mendes doubled the lead with a well-placed free kick into the bottom left corner. Uzbekistan had a goal disallowed in the 29th minute when Abbosbek Fayzullayev was ruled to have fouled Cancelo before Azizjon Ganiev's powerful strike from outside of the box.
Game conclusion
Portugal add more goals to their tally
Ronaldo's second goal came six minutes before half-time, courtesy a brilliant through ball from Bruno Fernandes. The fourth goal for Portugal came after some confusion in the box following a corner kick, with goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov unable to clear the ball after it deflected off Abdukodir Khusanov. Rafael Leao completed the rout with a shot into the top left corner after Nelson Semedo's low pass was deflected behind by the backtracking defender.
Match stats
Here are the match stats
From 16 attempts, Portugal recorded nine shots on target. Uzbekistan made just seven attempts and managed two strikes on target. The winning team had a dominant 66% ball possession in the game. They completed 606 passes with a sensational 92% accuracy. Uzbekistan's passes count was 282. Their accuracy was 77%.
Ronaldo
Ronaldo: First player with goals in 6 World Cups
As mentioned, Ronaldo became the first player to score a goal in six different FIFA World Cup tournaments. The Portugal skipper, aged 41 years and 138 days, became just the second player to net a World Cup goal after turning 40. He has joined former Cameroonian star Roger Milla, who was 42 years and 39 days when he struck the net in the 1994 edition. However, Ronaldo is now the oldest to score multiple goals in a World Cup match.
Information
Ronaldo goes past Eusébio
Playing his 24th World Cup game, Ronaldo has raced to 10 goals. With this, he became Portugal's leading goal-scorer in the competition's history. He went past Eusébio, who netted nine goals for the team across six games - all in the 1966 edition.
Prospect
Portugal all but through
Portugal's 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan has all but secured their place in the knockout stages of the tournament. The win came as a huge relief after a disappointing 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo in their opening match. After the match, Ronaldo expressed his delight at the significant improvement in his team's performance. Meanwhile, Portugal's final group match will be against Colombia on Saturday.