Ronaldo first to score at six World Cups in Portugal rout
Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score at six World Cups as Portugal thrashed debutants Uzbekistan and took top spot in Group K.
- Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, became the first player in history to score at six different World Cups, stretching from 2006 to 2026.
- Portugal routed debutants Uzbekistan 5-0 and moved to the top of Group K, a point clear of Colombia.
- Ronaldo scored a brace, the first goal inside 6 minutes, and overtook Eusebio as Portugal's leading World Cup scorer with 10 goals.
- At 41 years and 138 days, he is the second-oldest scorer in World Cup history.
While much of the Balkans was still debating how its own sides might fare against Europe’s heavyweights, Portugal showed in Houston on Tuesday why it remains one of the favourites at this World Cup, and at the centre of the story was the very man many had written off only days earlier. Cristiano Ronaldo, the captain who turns 42 next April, scored twice in a commanding 5-0 win over Uzbekistan and entered the record books as the first footballer to score at six different World Cups.
The record is no symbolic footnote. With goals at tournaments from Germany in 2006 to this North American edition, Ronaldo moved ahead of Lionel Messi, with whom he had shared the previous mark of five tournaments until Tuesday. The first goal arrived in the sixth minute, when the Portugal captain pounced on a loose ball in front of the Asian debutants’ goal and calmly finished, and his second strike of the night extended the lead his side now holds at the top of the group.
What does this record mean for Ronaldo’s legacy?
The numbers speak for themselves, but the context makes them weightier still. With ten World Cup goals, Ronaldo overtook the legendary Eusebio to become Portugal’s all-time leading scorer at the competition, and at 41 years and 138 days he is also the second-oldest player ever to find the net at a World Cup, behind only Cameroon’s Roger Milla. For a footballer who has spent his career breaking records, this is fresh proof that he is pushing the limits of his era for longer than anyone expected.
After a first round in which Portugal struggled, the pressure on the veteran forward was visible. The win over Uzbekistan, with the captain’s brace, restores confidence ahead of decisive group-stage fixtures. Nuno Mendes also scored, an own goal made it four, and Rafael Leao set the final 5-0 in the 87th minute, rounding off an evening that went exactly to plan for the Portuguese bench.
How does Portugal stand heading into the final group games?
The result lifted Portugal to first place in Group K, a point clear of Colombia, and edged them closer to the knockout stage. For a side that dreams of finally winning its first World Cup, this comes at the right moment, opening room to rotate and rest key players before the sterner tests ahead.
The match also matters from another angle for the region. Ronaldo and Portugal have for years been a benchmark against which Balkan sides measure themselves, and each of his appearances on the big stage becomes a yardstick for what elite football now demands. The only question is whether Portugal can carry this mood to the end, or whether one of its European rivals will be ready to punish even the smallest gap. Do you believe Ronaldo can pull off something even greater than the record he has just broken at this World Cup?
