Breaking records is a beautiful thing, Ronaldo reacts to new World Cup feat
Cristiano Ronaldo opened his 2026 World Cup goalscoring account with a brace in the 5-0 win over Uzbekistan in a Group encounter on Tuesday at the Houston Stadium in America.
The Al Nassr forward ended his 10-match goal drought for Portugal in major tournaments with two well-netted goals to lead Portugal to their first win of the tournament.
Ronaldo opened the scoring for Portugal in the sixth minute with a clinical finish in the box to become the first player to score in six World Cup tournaments.
He also became the second oldest man to score at a World Cup, behind Cameroon’s Roger Milla, who was 42 when he found the net against Russia in 1994.
Ronaldo’s effort set the tone for Portugal’s goal fest as Nuno Mendes made it two in the 17th minute with a low free kick from 20 yards out.
Uzbekistan thought they had reduced the deficit when G’aniev’s effort rolled into the net but it was ruled out after Abbosbek Fayzullaev fouled Cancelo.
In the 39th minute, Ronaldo added the second goal, finishing off superbly from a Bruno Fernandes’ pass for his 10th World Cup goal in the tournament’s history.
Uzbekistan Goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov scored a own goal in the 60th minute when the ball bounced off him from a corner.
Substitute Rafael Leao added the fifth goal to add gloss to the victory and hand Portugal the maximum points.
Ronaldo was delighted to put a tough week behind him with a match-winning performance against Uzbekistan.
Read Also: Portugal thrash Uzbekistan as Ronaldo makes W’Cup history with brace
He said: “I know that whoever works, God helps him. It was a tough week, a dark one; it started as if I had retired from football.
“But I held on as I always hold on because I believe in work more than football.
“It was tough, I have to admit that, but we came back.
“I’m very happy, but for me, the most important thing is the work the team put in, and the confidence we had. We took a lot of hits during the week, and we knew that was going to happen.
“The team worked really well, and we improved a lot. As they say: every cloud has a silver lining.
“For me, breaking records is always a beautiful thing, but my goal is to help the national team achieve its objectives. At this stage, the goal was to get past the group stage, and with 4 points, I think we’ve already qualified.”
Portugal will resume action against Colombia on Sunday as Uzbekistan faces DR Congo on the same day.
Top Stats From Portugal vs Uzbekistan
6 – Cristiano Ronaldo is the first man to score in six different FIFA World Cup tournaments.
137 – There have been 137 goals scored in this year’s FIFA World Cup (45 games), now the most ever in the group stages of a single edition of the finals, overtaking the 136 scored in 2014 (48 games).
Nuno Mendes’ goal against Uzbekistan was only the second direct free-kick scored for Portugal at a FIFA World Cup, after Cristiano Ronaldo vs Spain in 2018.
Cristiano Ronaldo has now scored more World Cup goals for Portugal than any other player:
◉ 10 – Cristiano Ronaldo
◎ 9 – Eusebio
◎ 4 – Pauleta
