2026 World Cup: Cristiano Ronaldo Comes Alive as Portugal Rout Uzbekistan
Cristiano Ronaldo responds to criticism and leads Portugal to a 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan in their second Group K match of the 2026 World Cup in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Houston celebrates the resurgence of CR7 and the Portuguese national team following the fierce backlash after the disappointing 1-1 draw against Congo, when the former Juventus, Real Madrid, and Manchester United star failed to score. Thanks to this victory, Martinez’s team temporarily takes the lead with 4 points, while the Asian squad coached by Fabio Cannavaro faces the risk of elimination.
With a sublime first half, Ronaldo silenced the rumors and criticism of recent days, which had been fueled in part by the extraordinary performances of his longtime rival Lionel Messi with Argentina. In the 6th minute, CR7 beat the ponderous Uzbek defense to a cross from Cancelo and opened the scoring with a beautiful right-footed volley. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner became the first player ever to score in six different World Cup tournaments.
Portugal cruised through the match, and in the 17th minute, Nuno Mendes made it 2-0 with a free kick from the edge of the box. Cannavaro’s team had a moment of hope in the 23rd minute when Ganiev scored to make it 1-2, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review due to a previous foul on Cancelo. In the 39th minute, João Félix set up Ronaldo, who remained cool in front of the goal to score his second of the match and the third goal of the game (bringing his World Cup total to 10 goals).
In the second half, Portugal scored their fourth goal in the 59th minute: on a cross from Bruno Fernandes, Nematov was the last to touch the ball, resulting in an own goal. Ronaldo tried several times to score his third, but Nematov denied him in the 73rd minute. In the closing minutes of the match, there was also a chance for Leao: the Milan star scored the final goal to make it 5-0 in the 87th minute, after being set up in the box by Semedo.
