Ronaldo makes history as Portugal win 5-0 against World Cup debutants Uzbekistan

Cristiano Ronaldo made history on Tuesday as Portugal won 5-0 against World Cup debutants Uzbekistan in their second Group K match in the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Houston Stadium in the US.

After two important chances missed in the first minutes of the match, Portugal gained an early lead in the 6th minute when Ronaldo converted a right-wing cross by full-back Joao Cancelo, scoring his ninth World Cup goal.

The opener saw the Portuguese captain, 41, becoming the second-oldest scorer in the tournament's history, behind Roger Milla in 1994 against Russia (42), as well as the first-ever player to score in six FIFA World Cup tournaments.

Portugal doubled their lead in the 17th minute following a free-kick by left-back Nuno Mendes, in an effort where all eyes were fixated on Ronaldo to take it.

Uzbekistan's most important chance of the first half came as midfielder Azizjon Ganiev scored a stunning outside-the-box effort in the 29th minute. However, it was ruled out by VAR review just a minute later due to a foul in the build-up leading to the goal.

Ronaldo scored his second of the game in the 39th minute after sliding the ball into the bottom left corner of the Uzbek goal following a superb through-ball from attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes.

With his second goal of the match, Ronaldo overtook Portuguese legend Eusebio as his nation's leading World Cup scorer.

Despite a couple of attempts on goal by Uzbekistan in the initial minutes of the second half, Portugal scored their fourth goal in the 60th minute after a near-post flick from a corner caused chaos in the box, resulting in an own goal by goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov.

Portuguese super-sub Rafael Leao determined the final score just four minutes after coming on, scoring Portugal's fifth goal with a powerful strike from inside the box in the 87th minute.

The final score of the match saw Portugal rise to the top of Group K with a game in hand, while Uzbekistan have yet to win the first points of their debut World Cup campaign.

In its first game of the tournament, Portugal drew 1-1 with DR Congo, another World Cup debutant, despite obtaining early lead.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan lost 3-1 in their debut World Cup fixture against Colombia, who were runners-up in the latest edition of the Copa America in 2024.

In the other Group K fixture, Colombia will face DR Congo later Tuesday at the Estadio Guadalajara in Mexico, 0200GMT.

In their final games of the group, Portugal will face against Colombia, while Uzbekistan will play DR Congo.