Cristiano Ronaldo silenced his critics in emphatic fashion on Tuesday, becoming the first player to score in six different World Cup tournaments as Portugal crushed Uzbekistan 5-0 to move to the brink of the knockout stage.
The Portugal captain struck twice in Houston, delivering a resounding response to doubts about his place in the team and underlining his enduring value at the age of 41.
Ronaldo opened the scoring after just six minutes, making history by finding the net in six World Cups dating back to 2006, a feat unmatched even by long-time rival Lionel Messi.
The veteran forward celebrated with his trademark “Siu” before roaring in front of a crowd of 68,777.
Nuno Mendes doubled Portugal’s lead before Ronaldo added his second six minutes before halftime with a composed finish.
The brace took Ronaldo to 10 World Cup goals, surpassing Portuguese legend Eusebio as his country’s leading scorer in the tournament’s history.
Ronaldo entered the match against World Cup debutants Uzbekistan with 143 international goals — already the highest tally in men’s international football.
However, questions had begun to surface following Portugal’s disappointing 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo in their opening match. Ronaldo struggled for service and failed to hit the target with his two clear opportunities, prompting some calls for coach Roberto Martinez to leave him out.
His difficulties contrasted sharply with the fast starts made by stars such as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane.
Martinez, though, remained steadfast in his support of his captain, who received a hero’s welcome from Portuguese supporters when he emerged for the pre-match warm-up and every time he appeared on the stadium’s giant screens.
Ronaldo’s day
Ronaldo nearly scored after just three minutes when he narrowly missed connecting with a cross from Mendes at the far post, slapping the turf in frustration.
He did not have to wait long to make amends. In the sixth minute, he spun inside the six-yard box to meet Joao Cancelo’s cross first time and fired beyond goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov.
The overmatched Uzbeks, coached by 2006 World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro, proved ideal opponents for Ronaldo to rediscover his scoring touch.
Portugal doubled their lead in the 17th minute when Mendes curled home a free-kick.
Uzbekistan thought they had reduced the deficit through a stunning strike from Azizjon Ganiev, but VAR ruled out the goal for a foul on Cancelo in the build-up.
Ronaldo then grabbed his second of the evening, coolly slotting past Nematov after being played through on goal.
He nearly completed his hat-trick following an intricate free-kick routine, only for Nematov to deny him before colliding heavily with the Portuguese forward.
Portugal’s fourth arrived from the resulting corner, with Ronaldo again involved before the ball deflected in off Nematov for an own goal.
Substitute Rafael Leao completed the rout with an emphatic finish in the 87th minute.
Before facing Uzbekistan, the statistics had begun to raise concerns about Ronaldo’s impact at major tournaments. Across his previous 10 appearances at World Cups and European Championships, he had recorded no goals and just one assist.
Yet he arrived at the tournament on the back of another prolific campaign for Al Nassr, scoring 28 goals in 30 Saudi Pro League matches.
Portugal conclude their Group K campaign on Saturday against Colombia, who earlier defeated Uzbekistan 3-1.
Colombia face DR Congo later on Tuesday knowing victory would secure their place in the last 32.
AFP
