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Cristiano Ronaldo scored a historic brace and Portugal crushed Uzbekistan 5-0 this Tuesday at the , in the second round of Group K of the , to erase the bitter taste of the initial draw and establish itself as the undisputed leader of the group.
The Portuguese captain opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a precise shot and repeated it in the 39th to close the first half with a three-goal lead. With that brace, Ronaldo became the first player in history to score in six World Cups —2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, and 2026— raising his World Cup tally to nine goals at the age of 41.
Among the two goals by the captain, Nuno Mendes extended the lead in the 17th minute with a shot that left the Uzbek goalkeeper helpless, making it 2-0 before the halfway point of the first half.
One of the standout plays of the first half occurred in the 29th minute, when VAR disallowed a goal by A. Ganiev due to a prior foul, denying Uzbekistan the chance to close the gap and keeping the score at 3-0 at halftime.
In the second half, Portugal continued to dominate with authority and without concessions. An own goal by A. Nematov in the 60th minute made it 4-0, sealing any chance of a comeback for Uzbekistan.
Rafael Leão, having come on from the bench in the 83rd minute, quickly made his mark: four minutes later, he scored the fifth goal to cap off a high-level collective performance.
The statistics reflected the Portuguese dominance from start to finish: 67% possession, 15 shots with eight on target, compared to the seven attempts by Uzbekistan with only two on goal. Each team received a yellow card: Khamrobekov for Uzbekistan in the 14th minute and Veiga for Portugal in the 68th.
Portugal entered this match with an urgent need to react after the 1-1 draw against the Democratic Republic of the Congo in their debut, where Ronaldo did not score and Yoane Wissa equalized in injury time of the first half, giving the DRC their first historic goal in a World Cup, 52 years after their last participation as Zaire.
Uzbekistan, making its World Cup debut in this tournament, has suffered two consecutive defeats—first losing 1-3 to Colombia—and is eliminated with zero points and a goal difference of -7 from two matches.
With this victory, Portugal with four points (one win and one draw), followed by Colombia with three after one match played, and the Democratic Republic of Congo with one. The standings are still partial, as there are more matches to be played in the group.
The next commitment for the Portuguese team will be on Saturday, June 27, against Colombia at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, a match that will determine the final leadership of Group K and test the newly regained solidity of the Portuguese national team.
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