Portugal vs Uzbekistan LIVE: World Cup 2026 match stream, latest score, goal updates and fan reaction | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal aiming to spark World Cup campaign into life in Houston this evening

Action from the World Cup continues this evening with another David vs Goliath showdown as the much-fancied Portugal face tournament debutants Uzbekistan in Houston. The opening Group K game brought about frustration for Roberto Martinez's side as they were held to a draw by DR Congo despite taking an early lead, with the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Nuno Mendes and Cristiano Ronaldo largely subdued.

The Portugal captain has since come in for some criticism for his performance, and once again questions are being raised as to whether his role in the team should be diminished. Nevertheless, he will be desperate to prove his doubters wrong by helping his nation kickstart their World Cup 2026 campaign and also respond to his rivals in the Golden Boot race, though he currently trails Lionel Messi by five goals.

Live updates

How tournament debutants have fared

Uzbekistan are one of four nations making their World Cup debuts at this tournament, along with Cape Verde, Curacao and Jordan.

Cape Verde have provided the story of the World Cup so far, holding Spain and Uruguay to draws which means they have a great chance to reach the knockout stage.

Kick-off approaching in Houston

15 minutes to go until kick-off at the Houston Stadium

Around the grounds

The other game in this group, Colombia vs DR Congo, gets underway at 3am BST in the UK.

Victory for Colombia will seal a place in the knockout stage, but DR Congo are a difficult team to break down - just ask Portugal.

Which teams are already out of the World Cup 2026?

The World Cup is rapidly approaching the business end of the group stage, with a number of teams already seeing their hopes of progress dashed.

An increase from 32 to 48 nations for this summer’s tournament in North America has led to the addition of 24 more games during the first phase, with the top two from each of the 12 four-team groups advancing through to the newly-created round of 32, along with the best eight third-place finishers.

A less well-known but still significant change for this World Cup has been FIFA deciding to use head-to-head records above goal difference as the principal tiebreaker during the group stage.

That means that a number of teams who would previously have gone into the last round of group fixtures still with a slim chance of reaching the knockout rounds now know that they mathematically have no shot.

Here is a list of all the nations that are already definitely out of the 2026 World Cup.

Portugal backed to win

Fan thoughts: Portugal under pressure

Fan reaction: Ronaldo pressure

Uzbekistan changes

Rustam Ashurmatov is passed fit to start for Uzbekistan this evening in what is a massive fitness boost for the underdogs.

However, Fabio Cannavaro has rung the changes, particularly in goal as Abduvokhid Nematov gets the nod ahead of Utkir Yusupov.