Cristiano Ronaldo delivered a vintage performance on Tuesday night, scoring twice as Portugal cruised to a commanding 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan in Houston.
The Al-Nassr star opened the scoring in the sixth minute, calmly converting João Cancelo’s low cross from the right flank to hand Portugal an early advantage.
The strike saw Ronaldo make history as the first player to score in six different FIFA World Cups.
The 41-year-old doubled Portugal’s lead in the 39th minute, latching onto a superb through ball from Bruno Fernandes before coolly slotting past Uzbekistan goalkeeper Abduluvohid Nematov.
Between Ronaldo’s two goals, Nuno Mendes produced a stunning free-kick in the 17th minute to make it 2-0.
Portugal’s fourth goal came in fortunate circumstances when Nematov inadvertently turned the ball into his own net, while Rafael Leão completed the rout with a late strike in the 87th minute.
Ronaldo’s brace also took his World Cup tally to 10 goals, surpassing Portuguese legend Eusébio to become Portugal’s all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.
The veteran forward celebrated his return to the scoresheet by shouting, “I am back! I am back!” into a television camera — a pointed response to critics after he failed to score in Portugal’s opening World Cup match against DR Congo.
Speaking after the game, Ronaldo admitted the days following that match had been challenging.
“It was a difficult and dark week. It felt like I had already retired from football, but I held on as I always do because I believe in work and hard work more than anything else,” he said.
“It was tough, I have to admit that, but we are back.”
Portugal now have four points from two matches and will face Colombia on Saturday, knowing a victory would secure their place in the Round of 32.
