Cristiano Ronaldo Scores Twice As Portugal Rout Uzbekistan 5-0

Last Updated:June 24, 2026, 00:52 IST

Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice as Portugal beat Uzbekistan 5-0 in Houston, becomes first player to score in six World Cups, Portugal near knockout stages.

Cristiano Ronaldo delivered a stirring response to his critics on Tuesday, scoring twice as Portugal crushed Uzbekistan 5-0 in Houston and moved to the brink of the World Cup knockout stages.

The Portugal captain etched his name into the history books with an early strike that made him the first player to score in six different World Cup tournaments, surpassing long-time rival Lionel Messi’s mark. The goal also set the tone for a dominant Portuguese display that left Uzbekistan overwhelmed.

Ronaldo had faced mounting scrutiny following Portugal’s underwhelming 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo in their opening Group K match. The 41-year-old struggled to make an impact in that game and missed his best chances, prompting calls for head coach Roberto Martinez to consider changes up front.

Martinez, however, kept faith with his veteran skipper and was rewarded almost immediately.

After narrowly missing a cross from Nuno Mendes in the third minute, Ronaldo broke the deadlock three minutes later. Meeting a delivery from Joao Cancelo inside the six-yard box, he swivelled sharply and fired past goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov before celebrating with his trademark “Siu" in front of a crowd of 68,777.

The goal extended Ronaldo’s remarkable World Cup journey, which began in Germany in 2006, and took his tally to 10 goals in the competition — more than any other Portuguese player, including legendary forward Eusebio.

Portugal doubled their lead in the 17th minute through Mendes, who curled a superb free-kick into the net. Uzbekistan briefly thought they had reduced the deficit when Azizjon Ganiev struck from distance, but the effort was ruled out following a VAR review for a foul on Cancelo in the build-up.

Ronaldo struck again six minutes before halftime, calmly finishing after being played through on goal to make it 3-0 and effectively end the contest.

The veteran nearly completed his hat-trick later in the game but was denied by Nematov after a cleverly worked free-kick routine. Portugal nevertheless added a fourth when pressure from a corner resulted in an own goal by the Uzbek goalkeeper.

Substitute Rafael Leao completed the rout with a powerful finish in the 87th minute as Portugal underlined their status as one of the tournament favourites.

Before Tuesday’s encounter, Ronaldo had gone 10 consecutive matches at major international tournaments — World Cups and European Championships — without scoring, managing just one assist during that run. Yet his performance against Uzbekistan was a reminder of the enduring quality that has made him international football’s all-time leading men’s scorer with 143 goals.

Portugal will conclude their group-stage campaign against Colombia on Saturday. The South Americans, who defeated Uzbekistan 3-1 in their opening match, face DR Congo later on Tuesday knowing a victory would also secure their place in the last 32.

(With agency inputs)

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