Ronaldo Makes World Cup History as Portugal Cruise Past Uzbekistan

Cristiano Ronaldo made history by becoming the first player to score in six different FIFA World Cups. He found the net twice as Portugal cruised to a 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan. The World Cup newcomers now face a difficult path to the knockout stage after conceding at least three goals in both of their group matches so far.

Portugal almost went ahead within the opening two minutes when Bruno Fernandes turned sharply inside the box and hit a quick effort that was blocked before reaching the goal.

Soon after, Cristiano Ronaldo came very close to meeting a dangerous cross from Nuno Mendes but could not quite reach it, showing his frustration as the ball flew past him. He made no mistake with the next delivery, though, getting in front of his marker at the near post and powering the ball beyond Abduvohid Nematov to score his record-breaking goal.

Mendes tried to stop Portugal from losing control like they did against DR Congo earlier. He surprised Uzbekistan with a smart free-kick, curling it with his left foot past the goalkeeper while everyone expected Ronaldo to take it.

Just before the half-time, Ronaldo came up with another lightning strike. He scored his second goal after a clever pass from Fernandes, calmly placing the ball into the corner.

After passing Eusébio to become Portugal’s top World Cup scorer, Ronaldo came close to a first-half hat-trick, but Abdukodir Khusanov cleared his clever chip off the line.

Early in the second half, Portugal tried another set-piece routine, giving the 41-year-old another opening, but Nematov rushed out and made a sharp save after the defence was caught off guard.

From the corner that came next, Fernandes drilled a low ball into the box. It took a deflection off Khusanov and then Nematov before ending up in the net, going down as an unlucky own goal.

Not long after, Nematov lost the ball in a dangerous area, and it seemed Ronaldo would finally get his hat-trick and Portugal’s fifth. He rushed in and blocked the clearance, but couldn’t convert the chance. The final blow instead came from Rafael Leao, who fired a strong shot from the edge of the box to pile on more pain for Uzbekistan.

As a result, Portugal secured the victory by 5-0, with Ronaldo taking all the limelight with a stunning brace in the first half.