Cristiano Ronaldo set a new record after leading Portugal to defeat Uzbekistan 5-0 in the 2026 World Cup Group K match at the Houston Stadium, Houston, Texas, USA, Wednesday, June 24, 2026 WIB. Ronaldo scored two goals which put Portugal at the top of the standings.
Ronaldo’s presence at the age of 41 is questionable when Portugal faces Uzbekistan. How not, in the first match against Congo, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star failed to bring Portugal to three points and was only able to play a 1-1 draw.
However, coach Roberto Martinez still retained the captain. And Ronaldo answered Martinez’s trust by scoring a brace. This mainstay pillar of Al Nassr opened Portugal’s victory when the match was only six minutes. He then added another goal when he welcomed Bruno Fernandes’ assist which changed the score to 3-0.
The success of scoring a brace makes Ronaldo make a new record. He is the only player who is able to score a goal during six appearances at the World Cup.
The star with the number seven has also bagged 10 goals, making him the top scorer in Portugal’s history at the World Cup. Ronaldo surpassed the record of Portuguese legend Eusebio, who scored nine goals.
At the age of 41 years and 138 days, Ronaldo also became the second oldest player to score a goal in the World Cup. Meanwhile, Roger Milla, a legend of Cameroon who once played in Indonesia, became the oldest player at the age of 42 years and 39 days when he scored a goal.
“Of course, I’m happy with this achievement. But for me the most important thing is the hard work of the team and the confidence we showed,” Ronaldo said as quoted by FIFA.
“The team played well and showed good progress. Personally, the record that was created was certainly very pleasant. But my goal is to help the national team achieve its target,” he said.
The victory over Uzbekistan put Portugal at the top of Group K with four points. With a one-point advantage over Colombia, the Selecao das Quinas keep a big chance of advancing to the knockout round.
In that match, Portugal was definitely dominant over Uzbekistan who played for the first time in the World Cup. Portugal didn’t take long to take the lead after Ronaldo took advantage of Joao Cancelo’s pass when the match was only six minutes.
Ahead 1-0, Portugal continued to press and play aggressively. As a result, the 2016 European champions added a goal through Nuno Mendes in the 17th minute. The left back successfully executed a direct free kick that fooled the Uzbekistan defense.
Uzbekistan managed to break Portugal’s goal through a long-range shot from Aziz Ganiev. However, the goal was annulled by the referee after reviewing it via VAR that there was a foul in the process of the goal.
Furthermore, Portugal was unstoppable. Especially after Ronaldo scored his second goal in the 39th minute. The score changed to 3-0 for Portugal and lasted until the first half ended.
Entering the second half, Portugal continued to dominate. However, they had to wait until the 60th minute to change the score to 4-0 when Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov made a mistake in anticipating the ball in his own defensive area and made a suicide goal.
Wing player Rafael Leao then completed Portugal’s goal party in the 87th minute. The AC Milan star, who is being targeted by Manchester United, completed a quick attack to secure a landslide victory over Uzbekistan.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language.
(system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
Add VOI as a Preferred Source
Follow VOI news updates across Google.
+
