Cristiano Ronaldo Scores 2 Goals, Portugal Beats Uzbekistan 5-0

Defeat Uzbekistan, make Portugal to the top of the Group K standings with four points. (Instagram @fifaworldcup)

Cristiano Ronaldo scored two goals (brace) when he led Portugal to defeat Uzbekistan 5-0 in the second match of Group K of the 2026 World Cup at the Houston Stadium, United States on Wednesday.

The victory was the first for Portugal in the 2026 World Cup after being held to a 1-1 draw by the Democratic Republic of Congo in the first match.

This result brings Portugal to the top of Group K with four points, one point ahead of Colombia. Selecao also maintains a big chance to advance to the knockout stage.

Portugal dominated from the very first minutes. Ronaldo opened his team's advantage in the 6th minute after taking advantage of Joao Cancelo's horizontal pass from the right side.

Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't hide his joy at scoring a goal against Uzbekistan. (Instagram @fifaworldcup)

The Al-Nassr striker calmly fired a right foot shot that failed to be blocked by Uzbekistan goalkeeper Abduvokhid Nematov.

The goal was Ronaldo's first goal in the 2026 World Cup after failing to score when Portugal was equalized by Congo in the opening match.

Portugal continued to press and doubled the lead in the 17th minute through Nuno Mendes. The left-back successfully executed a direct free kick that fooled the Uzbekistan defense and changed the score to 2-0.

Uzbekistan managed to break Portugal's goal through a long-range shot from Aziz Ganiev. However, the goal was annulled by the referee after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review found that there was a foul in the process of the goal.

Towards the break, Ronaldo showed his sharpness again. In the 39th minute, the 41-year-old received a breakthrough pass from Bruno Fernandes before delivering an accurate finish that gave Portugal a 3-0 lead.

The three-goal advantage held until the first half ended.

In the second half, Portugal's dominance did not slacken. Roberto Martinez's team added the fourth goal in the 60th minute through a suicide goal from Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov, who misjudged the ball in his own defensive area.

Portugal continued to create chances throughout the second half. Bruno Fernandes almost added his name to the scoreboard, but his shot was saved by Nematov.

Rafael Leao then completed Portugal's goal party in the 87th minute. He successfully completed a quick attack to ensure a landslide victory of 5-0 for his team.

On the other hand, Uzbekistan is confirmed to be eliminated after suffering two consecutive defeats and failing to score points from the first two matches.

Portugal (4-2-3-1): Diogo Costa; Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Renato Veiga, Nuno Mendes; Vitinha, Joao Neves; Pedro Neto, Bruno Fernandes, Joao Felix; Cristiano Ronaldo.

Uzbekistan (3-4-3): Abduvokhid Nematov; Rustam Ashurmatov, Abdulla Abdullaev, Abdukodir Khusanov; Sherzod Nasrullaev, Otabek Shukurov, Odiljon Khamrobekov, Bekhruz Karimov; Aziz G'aniev, Abbosbek Fayzullaev, Eldor Shomurodov.