This victory not only brought Roberto Martinez's team closer to securing a place in the knockout round, but also helped Ronaldo set a series of historical milestones in the biggest tournament on the planet.
Before the match against Uzbekistan, Ronaldo was under a lot of pressure. In the opening game, he didn't score and his role in the starting lineup was questioned, especially since Portugal had many young, fast, and in-form attacking options. However, as ESPN emphasized, Ronaldo understood better than anyone the importance of the World Cup to his career legacy. And when doubted, he responded in his most familiar way: by scoring goals.
In the 6th minute, Ronaldo opened the scoring for Portugal after a cross from Joao Cancelo. This goal showed that CR7's goal-scoring instinct remains intact: timing his movements perfectly, occupying space in the penalty area, and finishing neatly. The early goal helped Portugal relieve pressure and forced Uzbekistan to abandon their carefully prepared defensive strategy.
After the opening goal, Portugal continued to completely control the game. Ronaldo not only waited for the ball in the penalty area but also actively moved to stretch the opposing defense. Notably, in one dangerous free-kick situation, it wasn't Ronaldo who took it, but Nuno Mendes. The defender capitalized on the opportunity to score, showing that Portugal is no longer absolutely dependent on CR7 in set-piece situations as before.
Nevertheless, the spotlight remained on Ronaldo. In the 39th minute, from a pass by Bruno Fernandes, he broke free and finished accurately, completing his brace in the first half. After scoring, Ronaldo turned to the cameras and shouted loudly in English: “I’m back! I’m back!” — “I’m back!”. It wasn’t just an emotional celebration, but also a message to those who had doubted CR7 after his first match.
After the match, Ronaldo admitted that he and the whole team had gone through a week full of pressure. He told ESPN: “I can say that it was a very difficult week, a very challenging week, when the public criticized us very harshly, criticized all the players, but especially me and the coach.”
CR7 also shared more about how he dealt with mixed reviews in the later stages of his career: “I’ve been a professional player for 23 years. When things go well, Cristiano is great; when things go wrong, he’s ‘past his prime’ or ‘too old’. That’s just how it is.”
Those statements reflect Ronaldo's familiar mindset: always living with pressure, but always finding ways to turn that pressure into motivation. At 41, he's no longer a player who can sprint relentlessly or press intensely for the entire 90 minutes. However, Ronaldo's greatest value still lies in his ability to make a difference in the penalty area, in his positioning instincts, and his composure in front of goal.
Coach Roberto Martinez also continued to defend Ronaldo's role. According to ESPN, the Spanish coach once emphasized: "Cristiano creates space with his movements. He is the best at that. The numbers support him." The victory against Uzbekistan is clear evidence of this point. When Ronaldo moves intelligently, players like Bruno Fernandes, Joao Cancelo, and Nuno Mendes have more space to build up play, while the opposing defense is always on alert.
Beyond its professional significance, Ronaldo's brace against Uzbekistan also cemented his place in World Cup history. His goal in the 6th minute made him the first player to score in six different World Cups, spanning from 2006 to 2026. This is an unprecedented milestone in men's football history, affirming the incredible resilience of the Portuguese striker throughout two decades of top-level competition.
At 41 years and 138 days old, Ronaldo also became the second oldest player to score in a men's World Cup, behind only Cameroonian legend Roger Milla. He is also the oldest European player to score in a major tournament, including both the World Cup and the European Championship. These statistics further highlight Ronaldo's difference from the rest: not only did he achieve success during his peak, but he also maintained his competitiveness even as most players of his generation had retired.
Ronaldo has now scored in 11 different major tournaments for his national team, at least five more than any other European player. He also became the third player in history to be both the youngest and oldest goalscorer for his national team at the World Cup, after Michael Laudrup of Denmark and Lionel Messi of Argentina.
Ronaldo's brace against Uzbekistan also helped him raise his total number of goals in World Cup finals to 10, surpassing legend Eusebio to become Portugal's top scorer in this tournament. For a player once considered no longer suited to the pace of modern football, this was a powerful response.
The 5-0 victory against Uzbekistan wasn't enough to confirm Portugal as the perfect contender for the championship, but it showed that Martinez's team still possesses formidable firepower and a Ronaldo who always knows how to appear at the right moment. The 2026 World Cup could be CR7's final chapter on the biggest stage on the planet. And if this is his last, Ronaldo clearly doesn't want to leave in silence. As he himself declared after his brace in Houston: "I'm back."
Source: https://cand.vn/cu-dup-cua-ronaldo-va-loi-khang-dinh-di-san-world-cup-post814721.html
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