Cristiano Ronaldo announced his arrival at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, scoring twice in Portugal‘s 5-0 win over Uzbekistan in Houston in their second Group K game on Tuesday (June 23).
Ronaldo, 41, opened the scoring in the sixth minute and added another six minutes from time after Nuno Mendes scored a 17th-minute free-kick. There was no letting off from the Selecao after the break.
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Uzbek goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov – who pulled off a string of saves to deny Ronaldo his hat-trick – put in through his own net at the hour mark. Roberto Martinez’s side wrapped up the scoring three minutes from time, with a strike from Rafael Leao coming off the bench.
With the win catapulting the 2016 European champions to top place in their group and within touching distance of the knockouts, Ronaldo posted on social media (as per transfer guru Fabrizio Romano):
“I’M BACK. I’M BACK”.
The brace took Cristiano Ronaldo to 10 goals at the World Cup, making him Portugal’s highest scorer in the competition and the first player to hit double digits in both the European Championships and the World Cup.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s first strike of the match made him the oldest Portugal goalscorer in the FIFA World Cup, lowering Pepe (39)’s mark set four years ago in Qatar, where the Selecao lost to Morocco in the quarter-finals.
What other records Cristiano Ronaldo set during Portugal’s 2026 FIFA World Cup win over Uzbekistan?
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed a record-breaking outing as the Selecao trounced FIFA World Cup debutants Uzbekistan in Houston to notch up their first win of the ongoing 2026 edition.
Playing in a recod-equalling sixth World Cup, Ronaldo’s first strike against the Uzbeks made him the first player to score in six different editions of the quadrennial competition. That also made him the third player – after Michael Laudrup and Lionel Messi – to both become their team’s youngest as well as oldest goalscorer at the World Cup.
The Al-Nassr forward’s second strike made him the oldest player to score twice in a World Cup match even as he missed gilt-edged chances to become the World Cup’s oldest hat-trick scorer.
Edited by Bhargav
