Cristiano Ronaldo Leads Portugal to 5-0 Victory Over Uzbekistan
Cristiano Ronaldo roared back into the World Cup spotlight with a ruthless brace as Portugal crushed Uzbekistan 5-0, on a day when England stalled, Croatia clung on, and the knockout picture sharpened into focus.
This was Day 13 in North America. It felt like the tournament finally exhaled.
Ronaldo ignites Portugal – and a record
The debate around Cristiano Ronaldo’s place in this Portugal side had grown loud after the laboured 1-1 draw with DR Congo. Roberto Martinez ignored it. He kept his captain in the XI. Six minutes later, the decision looked inevitable.
Joao Cancelo slipped a pass into the box, Ronaldo spun sharply and drilled his finish inside the near post. One touch to set, one to score. With it, he became the first player in history to score at six World Cups. The celebration was part release, part warning.
Portugal never looked back.
Ronaldo then stepped over a free-kick on 17 minutes, the stadium braced for the trademark strike. Instead, he ran over the ball and left it for Nuno Mendes, who whipped a low shot from the edge of the area into the corner. A simple routine, devastatingly executed. The captain, very deliberately, the decoy.
The third was vintage Ronaldo. Bruno Fernandes slid a perfectly weighted pass through the inside-right channel in the 39th minute. Ronaldo accelerated, straightened his run and finished with cold precision. One glance, one clean strike. Game over before half-time.
Uzbekistan’s resistance crumbled. An own goal on the hour mark turned a defeat into a rout, and Rafael Leao added the flourish in the 87th minute, cutting in and burying Portugal’s fifth to complete a five-star statement in Group K.
At full-time, Ronaldo leaned into a TV camera and barked: “I’m back, I’m back.”
The numbers back him up. He is now Portugal’s all-time leading scorer at World Cups, moving clear of Eusebio, the icon whose shadow has loomed over every Portuguese forward since 1966.
Yet the 39-year-old framed it differently.
“I’m very happy but, for me, the most important thing is our work and the confidence we showed,” he said. “Obviously personal records are always nice but my goal is always to help the team achieve its objectives.”
Portugal’s objective is clear now. With Ronaldo firing and the supporting cast humming, they look like a side intent on staying in this tournament for a long time.
Colombia edge DR Congo as Group K takes shape
In the other Group K match, Colombia did just enough. Daniel Munoz finally broke DR Congo’s resistance in Guadalajara, scoring with 14 minutes left to secure a 1-0 win and a place in the round of 32.
It took patience. Lionel Mpasi, inspired in the DRC goal, repelled wave after wave of Colombian pressure, turning the evening into a test of Colombia’s nerve as much as their quality. When the breakthrough came, it felt like a dam bursting rather than a moment of individual brilliance.
By the end of the night, Colombia were celebrating qualification. Portugal, revitalised, were back in the conversation. Group K suddenly looks like one of the tournament’s power corridors.
England stall as Ghana stand firm
Across in Group L, the mood could not have been more different. England and Ghana played out a 0-0 draw that will not trouble any future World Cup highlight reels.
Thomas Tuchel’s team, so thrilling in their 4-2 win over Croatia less than a week ago, looked blunt and predictable. They had the ball, almost endlessly at times, but rarely the ideas to do anything truly dangerous with it.
The match began under a cloud. Boos rang out for Thomas Partey, Ghana’s midfield anchor, who is set to stand trial next year for rape and sexual assault. He denies the charges, but the reaction from sections of the crowd set a stark backdrop before a ball had even been kicked.
On the pitch, Ghana did what they have done all tournament: defend with discipline and organisation. By half-time, neither side had registered a shot on target. England shuffled the ball, Ghana shuffled across. The pattern barely changed.
Tuchel turned to his bench. One of his substitutes, Nico O’Reilly, came closest to breaking the deadlock, his header clipping the bar. The near miss finally jolted England into a higher tempo.
The best chance fell, inevitably, to Harry Kane. With four minutes left, the captain found space, the angle opened, the goal beckoned. He leaned back and sent his effort over the bar, a finish that summed up England’s lack of composure in the key moments.
“Yeah, it’s one of those games, a difficult team to break down and obviously we had loads of possession of the ball,” Kane told the BBC. “Probably the last 15 minutes of both halves we were at our best and had some chances, I had a good chance and hit the bar with Nico [O’Reilly] as well.
“Look, we wanted the win but we take the point and we’re still in a great position in the group.”
One flashpoint arrived before kick-off. Djed Spence appeared to ignore Partey in the pre-match handshakes, a brief but pointed moment that will fuel debate beyond the football.
England leave with a point and qualification still within reach, but the swagger of their opening win has faded. The final group game now carries a sharper edge.
Modric’s 200th cap keeps Croatia alive
The other match in Group L carried its own slice of history. At BMO Field, Luka Modric stepped onto the pitch for Croatia for the 200th time, becoming only the fourth player ever to reach that milestone for his country.
It was fitting that he remained central to everything in a 1-0 win over Panama that Croatia simply had to secure to stay alive.
The decisive moment came in the 54th minute. Ante Budimir found the breakthrough, turning a tight, nervy contest into a lifeline. Croatia held on, guided as ever by Modric’s calm authority in midfield.
It was not a performance to dazzle the neutrals, but it was one to extend a golden generation’s stay on the biggest stage for at least one more match.
For Panama, defeat confirmed elimination from the tournament. For Modric, it ensured his 200th cap ended with something he has built a career on: control of the result when it mattered.
Knockout picture sharpens as giants advance, minnows fall
Day 13 wrapped up the second round of group fixtures. The third and final round starts tomorrow, and with it comes jeopardy for almost everyone.
Several heavyweights have already booked their place in the round of 32. Mexico are through from Group A. The United States have navigated Group D. Germany have done their work in Group E. France and Norway are safely out of Group I. Argentina lead the way in Group J. Colombia, thanks to Munoz, are in from Group K.
Others know their journey is over. Haiti are out from Group C. Turkey’s campaign in Group D is finished. Tunisia’s run ends in Group F. Jordan’s World Cup stops in Group J. Panama, beaten by Croatia, fall in Group L.
Twelve teams from Groups A to C will discover their fate on Day 14. The margins are fine. The top two in each group advance automatically, joined by the eight best third-placed teams.
Head-to-head results are the primary tiebreaker for sides level on points, then goal difference, then goals scored. If the numbers still refuse to separate them, fair play comes into play: yellow and red cards tallied up, fewer cards meaning a better score. Discipline, quite literally, could decide destinies.
Trump to hand over the trophy
Away from the pitch, FIFA confirmed a headline-grabbing detail for the final in July.
US President Donald Trump will present the World Cup trophy to the winners on 19 July, sharing the stage with FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
“We will be together with the president [Trump] enjoying the final and handing the trophy to the winner, of course, together,” Infantino told Fox & Friends. “We are together all the time.”
Trump has been here before. He co-presented the Club World Cup trophy with Infantino last year, lingering on the podium long enough to become part of Chelsea’s celebrations and the subsequent social media ridicule. This time, the stakes – and the spotlight – will be far greater.
Norway’s Viking roar
One more image from the day lingered long after the final whistle: a sea of red shirts, arms linked, bodies rocking back and forth in unison.
Norway secured their passage to the knockout rounds from Group I and celebrated with their now-famous Viking Row, the choreographed, thunderous routine that has gone viral across this World Cup.
It was more than a meme made flesh. It was a statement from a team that has quietly, efficiently, done its work and now steps into the knockout stages with momentum and identity.
Ronaldo has declared he is back. Norway are marching. England are searching for fluency. Croatia are clinging to the old magic. With the final round of group games looming, who bends this World Cup to their will now?
