Cristiano Ronaldo scored a first-half brace to set Portugal on its way to comfortable win. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo’s record-breaking brace helped Portugal beat Uzbekistan 5-0 in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group K encounter in Houston on Tuesday.

The 41-year-old eclipsed Eusebio to become his nation’s all-time leading World Cup scorer and also became the first footballer to score in six editions of the quadrennial tournament.

The star striker put the Euro 2016 champion in front as early as the sixth minute, tapping in a cutback from Joao Cancelo at the near post. Nuno Mendes then doubled the lead with a smartly taken free kick into the bottom left corner eleven minutes later.

Uzbekistan had a goal disallowed in the 29th minute when Abbosbek Fayzullayev was deemed to have fouled Cancelo on the lead up to Azizjon Ganiev’s powerful strike from just outside the box. A Bruno Fernandes through ball brought about Ronaldo’s second and Portugal’s third six minutes before half time to all but seal the three points for the Portuguese.

The fourth goal came after some pinball in the box following a Portugal cornerkick, with goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov failing to claw away the ball after a deflection of Abdukodir Khusanov. Rafael Leao completed the win with a shot into the top left corner after a low pass from Nelson Semedo was deflected behind by the backtracking defender.

Portugal vs Uzbekistan Player Ratings:

Portugal

Costa (8.2), Cancelo (8.1), Dias (7.7), Veiga (7.3), Mendes (8.5), Neves (7.5), Vitinha (7.0), Neto (6.5), Fernandes (8.6), Joao Félix (7.3), Ronaldo (9.2)

Subs: Semedo (6.8), Conceição (7.0), Trincão (6.5), Silva (6.5), Leão (7.1)

Uzbekistan

Shomurodov (6.9), Fayzullayev (7.0), Shukurov (6.6), Khamrobekov (5.5), Ganiev (6.2), Nasrulloev (6.2), Karimov (6.5), Ashurmatov (5.0), Abdullaev (4.8), Khusanov (5.8), Nematov (4.6)

Subs: Alidzhanov (6.2), Mozgovoy (6.3), Sergeev (6.1), Esanov (No Rating), Jiyanov (No Rating)

Published on Jun 24, 2026