The talk heading into Portugal’s Group K game at NRG Stadium in Houston was whether 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo should still be starting. He had gone more than three years without scoring in a major tournament. His first World Cup match — a 1-1 draw with DR Congo — had done nothing to silence those critics. By the sixth minute against Uzbekistan on Tuesday, he had his answer.
Ronaldo scored twice to help Portugal beat Uzbekistan 5-0, becoming the first player in football history to score at six different World Cup tournaments — a run stretching unbroken from Germany in 2006 to the United States in 2026.
The opener came fast. Ronaldo spun inside the six-yard box to meet a cross and drove the ball past goalkeeper Abduvokhid Nematov, then roared, ran to the corner flag, and launched into his trademark SIUUU celebration in front of 68,777 fans. Nuno Mendes doubled the lead at the 17th minute with a direct free kick. In the 41st minute, Bruno Fernandes split the Uzbekistan backline with a through ball and Ronaldo rolled in his second — his 10th career World Cup goal — to put Portugal three up at halftime.
The record does something even Lionel Messi’s career couldn’t match. Both men have appeared at six World Cups, a milestone no other male player has ever reached. But Ronaldo scored at every single one. Messi went without a goal in 2010, which means Ronaldo holds this particular mark alone.
At 41 years and 138 days old, he is also the second-oldest scorer in World Cup history — behind only Cameroon’s Roger Milla, who was 42 years and 39 days old when he scored at the 1994 tournament. His 10 goals now move him past Eusébio as Portugal’s all-time top World Cup scorer. The two goals were also Ronaldo’s 144th and 145th in international football, a men’s record he holds 23 goals clear of Messi.
“Records are always nice,” Ronaldo told reporters after the game. His main message, though, was collective: the team had improved enormously, and that was what mattered most to him.
Uzbekistan, coached by Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro and appearing at their very first World Cup, had no answer for Portugal after halftime. An own goal made it 4-0 on the hour, and Rafael Leão lashed home a fifth from close range in the 87th minute to complete the rout.
Portugal go into their final group match against Colombia on Saturday as Group K leaders. A win would put them into the knockout rounds with a statement performance behind them, and with their 41-year-old captain playing like someone who never got the memo about aging.
