HOUSTON, United States
Cristiano Ronaldo made history Tuesday by becoming the first player to score in six different World Cups, finding the net in Portugal's 5-0 win over Uzbekistan.
Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo, 41, had gone 10 games without a goal in major tournaments -- a run stretching back to November 2022 -- after drawing a blank against Congo DR last Wednesday.
In Tuesday's Group K game, Ronaldo opened the scoring early with a near-post finish in the sixth minute, before turning down the chance to add a second with a free kick -- allowing Nuno Mendes to convert -- and then later racing onto a through ball to make it 3-0 before halftime.
Ronaldo had several chances to move onto a hat trick in the second half Tuesday, but was unable to find a third goal as Portugal moved to four points in the group ahead of their finale against Colombia in Miami on Saturday.
The goals mean the Portugal captain, who was named man of the match, is the first player to score in six different World Cups: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026.
He is also now the second-oldest scorer in World Cup history (41 years, 138 days), behind Roger Milla in 1994 for Cameroon against Russia (42 years, 39 days).
Portugal's fourth goal came on the hour when a low ball into the box took a series of deflections and ended up in the net after ricocheting off Abdukodir Khusanov and Abduvohid Nematov.
The Al Nassr star then forced a fine save from Nematov as he continued to chase a hat trick and Rafael Leão completed the rout when he lashed into the roof of the net when a clearance rolled into his path.
Ronaldo and his teammates faced heavy criticism after Portugal's 1-1 draw with Congo DR, with coach Roberto Martínez being questioned for continuing to pick the star at center forward.
"He's an example," Martínez said Monday, defending Ronaldo. "He's been playing for his country for a long time. He wants to contribute, and he's a role model for our team."
This year, Ronaldo and Argentina captain Lionel Messi have become the only men in history to play in six World Cup tournaments.
However, Ronaldo stands alone in scoring in each edition, after Messi failed to score a goal at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Ronaldo now has 10 goals in World Cups, and Messi has 18, after a hat trick in Argentina's opener against Algeria and two more goals against Austria made him the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.
This is likely to be Ronaldo's final World Cup, after a glittering career which saw him win the European Championships with Portugal in 2016 and the Champions League five times, with Manchester United and Real Madrid.
Tuesday's game was the 230th of Ronaldo's international career, the most in the history of the men's game. He has scored 145 times for Portugal during that span.
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