Cristiano Ronaldo’s latest goal for Portugal has seen him set a stunning World Cup record and provide the perfect response to Lionel Messi
Cristiano Ronaldo set a World Cup record with his goal for Portugal against Uzbekistan (Image: (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images))
Cristiano Ronaldo is the first player to score at SIX different World Cups.
The 41-year-old silenced critics by scoring six minutes into his side’s group clash against Uzbekistan, with it coming as the perfect response to Lionel Messi’s stunning brace against Austria.
READ MORE: Stay up to date with tonight’s England vs Ghana World Cup clash by following our live blog.
He had set a World Cup record of his own the previous day with a brace and hat-trick so far at this summer’s tournament seeing him become the all-time top scorer on a tally of 18.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, was on eight goals at the start of the tournament and struggled in Portugal’s opening game against DR Congo which ended level.
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However, he got had his moment inside the opening stages against Uzbekistan as he made a smart run ahead of the defender and subsequently tucked home Joao Cancelo’s low cross.
Speaking on Ronaldo after his goal, Lee Dixon said on ITV: “You can feel the tension has been released. Hairs on the back of your neck. Everybody that loves football will be pleased he’s scored this. He’s pumped up now.
“When the ball has gone wide, at his age you don’t need to be flat out sprinting. He’s clever and nips in front. The timing of his run onto the cross is absolute perfection.”
Portugal doubled their lead just after the quarter-of-an-hour mark when Nuno Mendes fired home a close-range free kick.
Ronaldo actually played a role in that goal as he acted as if he was taking the set-piece before the Paris Saint-Germain left-back quickly ran up to the ball and caught Uzbekistan goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov off guard with a fierce strike.
Their advantage looked to have been halved, however, when Azizjon Ganiev fired in from distance, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review for a foul on Joao Cancelo in the build up.
Ronaldo then doubled his tally before half time, cooly slotting home after a perfectly weighted pass from former Manchester United team-mate Bruno Fernandes.
As they look set to move onto four points, Portugal have all but guaranteed their spot in the round of 32.
The likes of Argentina, USA, France, Germany and Norway have already qualified with England looking to join them as they face Ghana this evening.
Thomas Tuchel’s side beat Croatia in their opening game and another three points will confirm them as group-winners.
Upgrade your World Cup TV setup with the Sky Glass ‘designed for football’
Sky is knocking 20% off its entire range of Glass TVs to mark the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Until June 17, shoppers can upgrade to the Sky smart TV that’s ‘designed for football’ from £4.50 per month when taken alongside a Sky TV and Netflix package.
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