Ronaldo makes history as Portugal thrash Uzbekistan 5-0

Cristiano Ronaldo announced his arrival at the FIFA World Cup 2026 in emphatic fashion, scoring a brilliant brace as Portugal ran riot against Uzbekistan in Houston. The 5-0 victory saw Ronaldo set multiple records, becoming the first player to score in six World Cups and the second-oldest scorer in tournament history.

Ronaldo's record-breaking night

Playing in his sixth World Cup finals, the 41-year-old opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a close-range effort following Joao Cancelo's cross. That goal made history: Ronaldo became the first player to score in six different World Cups, and at 41 years and 138 days, he became the second-oldest scorer in World Cup history, behind only Cameroon's Roger Milla (42 years, 39 days in 1994).

Ronaldo doubled Portugal's lead just before half-time with a well-taken strike into the corner, his 10th World Cup goal. That tally moved him past the legendary Eusebio (nine goals) to become Portugal's all-time leading scorer in the global finals.

Portugal's dominant display

Between Ronaldo's goals, Portugal added a second through Nuno Mendes, who scored a brilliant first-half free-kick. Ronaldo played a key role as a decoy in that set piece. A fourth goal came via an Uzbekistan own goal midway through the second half, and Rafa Leao completed the scoring in the 87th minute.

The victory was a strong response after Portugal struggled in their opening match against Congo DR. Coach Roberto Martinez praised his team's maturity: "This was the response we had in the dressing room. There are times when you need a game like the first one in order to grow in the tournament. Today we saw a team with the same attitude and commitment, but with greater maturity because it was no longer the opening match. I'm very pleased with the result."

Uzbekistan's campaign in doubt

Uzbekistan, making their World Cup debut, thought they had scored a consolation goal through a stunning long-range effort from Azizjon Ganiev, but it was ruled out for a foul. The debutants had earlier scored their first World Cup goal against Colombia but now face an uphill battle to advance from the group stage.

Ronaldo, who had shown visible relief after his performance, said: "I'm very happy. But for me, the most important thing is our work and the confidence we showed. The team performed really well and improved a lot. As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. Obviously, speaking personally, records are always nice, but my goal is always to help the national team achieve its objectives."