Ronaldo scores twice as Portugal rout Uzbekistan 5-0 to top Group K

Portugal hit top gear, demolish Uzbekistan

Ronaldo nets brace in first half alone

Rafael Leao seals emphatic win with fifth goal

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring his team's third goal against Uzbekistan in a 2026 FIFA World Cup Group K match at Houston Stadium in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday (local time). [Reuters-Yonhap]

Portugal crushed Uzbekistan 5-0 to move to the top of Group K, with captain Cristiano Ronaldo becoming the first player in men's football history to score at six consecutive World Cups.

Portugal won their second-round Group K match at Houston Stadium in Houston, Texas, in the early hours of Tuesday (local time). After an uncertain start — a 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 18 — Portugal claimed their first win of the tournament to sit first in the group with one win and one draw. Uzbekistan, the first Central Asian nation to qualify for the World Cup, suffered their second consecutive defeat following a loss to Colombia.

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Uzbekistan in a 2026 FIFA World Cup Group K match in Houston on Tuesday (local time). [AP-Yonhap]

Portugal took the lead just six minutes in when Ronaldo converted a low cross from Joao Cancelo, who had burst down the right flank, with a half-volley off his right foot.

The goal made Ronaldo the first player in men's football history to score at six consecutive World Cups, from Germany 2006 through the 2026 North America tournament. At 41 years and 138 days old, he also became the second-oldest scorer in World Cup history, behind Cameroon's Roger Milla.

Portugal's Nuno Mendes (left) celebrates with teammate Cristiano Ronaldo after scoring a free kick goal in the first half of a 2026 FIFA World Cup Group K match against Uzbekistan at Houston Stadium in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday (local time). [UPI-Yonhap]

Portugal extended their lead to 2-0 in the 17th minute when Nuno Mendes curled a left-footed free kick into the net from just outside the penalty arc.

Uzbekistan thought they had pulled one back in the 29th minute through Azizjon Ganiyev's long-range effort, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review confirmed that Abosbek Fayzullayev had fouled Cancelo in the build-up.

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo scores his team's third goal against Uzbekistan in a 2026 FIFA World Cup Group K match at Houston Stadium in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday (local time). [Reuters-Yonhap]

Portugal made it 3-0 in the 39th minute when Ronaldo latched onto a forward pass from Bruno Fernandes and fired home with his right foot from the right side of the penalty area. The goal was Ronaldo's 10th World Cup strike, surpassing Eusebio's nine to make him Portugal's all-time leading scorer at the tournament.

Portugal added a fourth in the 60th minute when Uzbekistan goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov turned a Fernandes corner into his own net. Substitute Rafael Leao then rounded off the scoring in the 87th minute, converting a right-footed shot after a defender failed to clear.

Ronaldo came close to a hat trick deep in stoppage time when he connected with a Mendes cross, but his shot went wide and the match ended 5-0.

In their opening match, Portugal had drawn 1-1 with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ronaldo started as the lone striker that day and played the full 90 minutes but managed only three shots, none on target, and touched the ball just 25 times.

Facing criticism after that performance, Ronaldo answered with his goals in the second group-stage match. With their talisman back in form, Portugal turn their attention to their final group-stage match against Colombia on June 28.

terry@heraldcorp.com