Cristiano Ronaldo’s record-breaking brace helps Portugal clear Uzbekistan in 2026 FIFA World Cup; player ratings

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

The 41-year-old overshadowed Eusebio to become his country’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 gave the Euro 2016 champions the lead in the sixth minute, tapping in Joao Cancelo’s cut-back at the near post. Nuno Mendes doubled the lead eleven minutes later with a cleverly taken free kick into the bottom left corner.

In the 29th minute, Uzbekistan had a goal disallowed when Abbosbek Fayzullayev was deemed to have fouled Cancelo in the build-up to Azizjon Ganiev’s powerful strike from just outside the penalty area. A through ball from Bruno Fernandes set up Ronaldo’s second and Portugal’s third six minutes before half-time, almost giving the Portuguese the three points.

The fourth goal came after some pinball in the penalty area following a Portugal corner, with goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov failing to clear the ball after a deflection from Abdukodir Khusanov. Rafael Leao completed the win with a shot into the top left corner after Nelson Semedo’s low pass was pushed back by the retreating 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

Shumuradov (6.9), Faizullayev (7.0), Shurmatov (6.6), Khamrobekov (5.5), Ganiev (6.2), Nasruloyev (6.2), Karimov (6.5), Ashurmatov (5.0), Abdullaev (4.8), Khusanov (5.8), Nematov (4.6)

Subs: Alidzjanov (6.2), Mozgovoy (6.3), Sergeev (6.1), Esanov (no rating), Jiyanov (no rating)

Published on June 24, 2026