Portugal crushed Uzbekistan 5-0 at NRG Stadium on Tuesday, with Ronaldo scoring a first-half brace his first goals of the 2026 World Cup to become the first player to net in six editions and hit Portugal's all-time record of 10 tournament goals.
Nuno Mendes, an own goal by Abduvahid Nematov, and a late Rafael LeĂŁo strike completed the win, bouncing back from their 1-1 opener draw against DR Congo.
Ronaldo earned Man of the Match, reflected on a tough week by saying 'whoever works hard, God helps him,' and quipped about facing Messi that it would be 'TOP.'
Cristiano Ronaldo: “Facing Leo Messi at the World Cup? The question doesn’t make a lot of sense… but ok. It would be TOP”.
“But my focus was on today. We won, I have been able to score, we keep going together. I am happy”.
Teammates like Bruno Fernandes celebrated online with huddle photos, while fans and pundits hailed the oldest multi-goal World Cup game ever.