By Horváth Ferenc
Published on
The 41-year-old Portuguese star met Joao Cancelo’s cross from the right to perfection in the sixth minute and fired into the bottom left corner, meaning that after 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022, he has now also got on the scoresheet at the 2026 tournament. In total, this was his ninth World Cup goal. The first came from the penalty spot against Iran 20 years ago.
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Cristiano Ronaldo is playing in his 24th World Cup match and is chasing Lionel Messi’s record. He also found the net against Uzbekistan in the 39th minute.
With his brace on Monday, Messi increased his World Cup tally to 18, an outright record, although he did not score in 2010. The Portuguese star, earning his 230th cap, registered his 144th and 145th international goals and is the world record holder in both categories.
Portugal eventually ran out comfortable 5-0 winners over Uzbekistan in the group match in Houston and can now be considered virtually certain to reach the next round.
