Portugal secured its first victory at the 2026 World Cup, powered by a standout performance from Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr), who made history by scoring at his sixth World Cup tournament.
Portugal beat Uzbekistan 5-0 in their second Group K match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, held at Houston Stadium in Texas on Tuesday (Korea time).
Having drawn 1-1 with underdog Democratic Republic of the Congo in their opening match, Portugal claimed their first win in the second game thanks to Ronaldo's multi-goal display. With four points, Portugal moved to the top of the group, overtaking Colombia (three points), which has yet to play its second match. Uzbekistan, the first Central Asian nation to reach the World Cup finals, fell to two straight losses in group play.
Portugal seized the initiative by scoring just six minutes into the match. Ronaldo finished a ground cross delivered by Joao Cancelo from the right flank with his right foot. With this goal, Ronaldo became the first player in World Cup history to score in six consecutive tournaments. Having participated since the 2006 Germany tournament, Ronaldo has scored at every edition, marking his ninth career World Cup goal. He also set the record for the second-oldest World Cup scorer at 41 years and 138 days, behind Cameroon's Roger Milla (42 years and 39 days).
Ronaldo scored his second goal in the 39th minute of the first half, with Portugal leading 2-0. On a counterattack, Ronaldo received a forward pass from Fernandes and found the net. The strike was Ronaldo's 10th career World Cup goal, surpassing the "legend" Eusebio (nine goals) to become Portugal's all-time top World Cup scorer.
Portugal added a goal from Nuno Mendes in the 17th minute of the first half, an own goal by Uzbekistan goalkeeper Abduvakhid Nematov on a corner kick in the 15th minute of the second half, and a clinching goal from Rafael Leao in the 42nd minute of the second half, wrapping up the match with a commanding five-goal margin.
