Key Points
- Portugal beat Uzbekistan 5-0 in Group K on June 23.
- Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice, becoming the first man to score in six World Cups.
- Nuno Mendes, an own goal, and Rafael Leão completed the rout.
- The win puts Portugal on the brink of the knockout round.
The debate before kickoff was whether a 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo should still be starting for Portugal. He answered it in six minutes. Ronaldo scored twice in a 5-0 rout of Uzbekistan on June 23, becoming the first man to score in six different World Cups and putting Portugal on the brink of the knockout round.
The game
Ronaldo opened the scoring in the sixth minute, finishing a João Cancelo cross, and Nuno Mendes doubled the lead with a free kick in the 17th. Ronaldo struck again before halftime to put the result beyond doubt; an Abduvohid Nematov own goal and a late Rafael Leão finish in the 87th rounded out the five. Uzbekistan, playing in its first men's World Cup, never threatened a side that controlled the match from the opening whistle.
The record
The brace took Ronaldo to 10 career World Cup goals, more than any other Portuguese player, and made him the first man to find the net across six tournaments — a span that now reaches 20 years. At an age when most strikers are long retired, he remains the answer to Portugal's biggest question, and the rout was an emphatic bounce-back from the team's opening 1-1 draw with DR Congo. Ronaldo has since confirmed that 2026 will be his last World Cup, with Portugal set to face Spain, giving this record a valedictory weight. It was a far more decisive afternoon than the goalless stalemate England and Ghana played to on the same matchday, and it arrived with the USMNT already through to the knockout round as the group stage nears its close.
Sources: Al Jazeera, ESPN
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