The legendary No. 7 finally found his good fortune again, making world history in the process.
Following a dismal performance against Congo on June 17 and something of a dry spell in international competition this past year, Cristiano Ronaldo netted a pair of spectacular goals against Uzbekistan in Group K play on June 23.
He silenced his critics with the ninth goal of his World Cup career, scored in the 6th minute, making him the first man in soccer history to score in six World Cup events. And then he added another later in the first half and continually threatened to score a hat-trick until the final whistle.
Ronaldo has now consecutively scored in every World Cup tournament since 2006. As he walked off the pitch at the end of the match as the second-oldest man to score a World Cup goal, he looked at the television cameras inside Houston Stadium and said, “I’m back.”
It was a one-sided game where Portugal, one of the favorites to win the cup, maintained 53 percent of ball possession and boasted 17 attempts on goal compared to Uzbekistan’s seven. Portugal also completed 561 passes, compared to Uzbekistan’s 267.
It was a major transformation from the 1–1 tie with Congo, where Ronaldo saw very little of the ball. Portugal, hailed as having one of the best midfields and far more depth than most teams in the competition, controlled the play early and quickly found pockets of space to exploit, even though Uzbekistan was maintaining nine or ten players behind the ball early in the match.
Ronaldo broke through early, hitting a one-timer with his right foot off a low cross from João Cancelo. An Uzbek defender was goal side of him, but Ronaldo was able to muscle him off the ball by a few inches and get the shot off.
On a free kick just outside of the penalty box in the 18th minute, Ronaldo lined up as if he was going to take the strike. But defender Nuno Mendes took it instead, driving the ball to the left of the wall and past Uzbek goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov, who was deceived by the decoy play and had his eyes on Ronaldo the whole time.
Uzbekistan’s best chance of the match happened 28 minutes later. Abbosbek Fayzullaev dispossessed Cancelo near the top of the box, knocking the ball loose for Aziz Ganiev to fire into the left corner of the Portugal goal. A video-assisted referee review of the play determined that Fayzullaev’s tackle connected only with Cancelo’s foot and not the ball, so the goal was disallowed.
Portugal closed out the first half with Ronaldo’s second goal. Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes slotted a through ball between two Uzbek defenders to meet the Run of Ronaldo, who began the play on the right side. Ronaldo took a few touches and passed the ball with his right foot into the lower left corner; Nematov couldn’t adjust to the sharp angle, even though it was not a hard shot.
In the second half, Portugal’s fourth score was an own goal following a corner kick. Ronaldo had a touch on the ball at close range before the ball went off Uzbek defender Abdukodir Khusanov.
The final goal came in the 87th minute. Rafael Leão netted his first goal for the Portuguese national team with a one-timer at the top of the penalty box into the top left corner.
Uzbekistan Coach Fabio Cannavaro said he knew this match would be very difficult for his young players, most of whom play in their domestic league rather than Europe’s top leagues. This was Uzbekistan’s first trip to the World Cup.
“I am very proud of them,” he said during the post-match press conference. “They tried everything. They tried their best.”
As for Ronaldo, Cannavaro said, “You cannot leave anything for him.”
“If you leave him even one centimeter, he’ll score two goals against you.”
Portugal Coach Roberto Martinez commended his side for regaining their focus after the disappointing tie against Congo and concentrating on the result for the full 90 minutes.
“Controlling the emotions is the most important thing just after scoring,” he said through a FIFA interpreter during the post-match press conference. “The team felt the responsibility they had on their shoulders. They become more collected, stronger.”
Uzbekistan, which lost its first match to Colombia 3–1, wraps up group play against Congo and has not yet been eliminated. Portugal will play Colombia and has not yet advanced to the knockout phase. Both matches take place on June 27.
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