The Ronaldo comeback: Portugal beat Uzbekistan 5-0 | OneFootball

Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé had already made their mark on the 2026 World Cup. Now, Cristiano Ronaldo joined them in style.

The Portugal captain scored twice as his side cruised to a 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan, temporarily moving to the top of Group K. Colombia and DR Congo will complete Matchday 2 later, with the result set to have a major impact on the group standings.

There was plenty of anticipation surrounding Ronaldo heading into the match. With several of football's biggest stars already on the scoresheet at the tournament, the 41-year-old was still waiting for his first World Cup goal in 2026.

He needed just six minutes to put that right.

Former Bayern Munich defender João Cancelo delivered a pinpoint cross for Ronaldo, who finished clinically to give Portugal an early lead.

Portugal doubled their advantage in the 17th minute. Rather than taking a promising free-kick himself, Ronaldo stepped aside and allowed Nuno Mendes to take responsibility, with the full-back finding the net to make it 2-0.

Ronaldo struck again shortly before half-time, scoring his second goal of the evening in the 39th minute. Uzbekistan's problems worsened after the break when goalkeeper Abduvokhid Nematov turned the ball into his own net, before Rafael Leão completed the scoring late on.

The emphatic victory leaves Portugal in a strong position to qualify for the knockout stages and underlines their status as one of the tournament favourites.

Uzbekistan, meanwhile, are not out of contention yet. Their hopes of reaching the next round now depend heavily on the outcome of the clash between Colombia and DR Congo.