HOUSTON — Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score in six World Cup tournaments on Tuesday as his pair of goals helped Portugal to a 5-0 rout of Uzbekistan.

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Ronaldo, 41, reached his milestone in the sixth minute and struck again in the 39th.

Nuno Mendes converted a free kick in the 17th minute when Portugal fooled everyone because Ronaldo had been expected to execute it.

An own goal from Abdukodir Khusanov in the 60th minute and a score by substitute Rafael Leão in the 87th wrapped up matters for Portugal, which got five goals out of eight attempts on target.

Portugal rebounded strongly from its opening 1-1 draw against Democratic Republic of Congo to go the top in Group K for the time being. Portugal can be overtaken by Colombia, which faces Congo later in the day. Uzbekistan sits at the bottom with zero points.

“I’m very happy,” Ronaldo said. “But for me, the most important thing is our work and the confidence we showed. The team performed really well and improved a lot. As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining.

“Obviously, speaking personally, records are always nice, but my goal is always to help the national team achieve its objectives.”

Ronaldo has 10 goals overall across the 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026 tournaments, as he claimed the national tournament record from the legendary Eusebio who has nine.

At 41 years, 138 days, Ronaldo is the second-oldest scorer in tournament history, with only Cameroon’s Roger Milla ahead at 42 years, 39 days.

Ronaldo was playing his 24th World Cup match, and alongside Argentina captain Lionel Messi, is playing at a record sixth World Cup.

Messi has a record 28 World Cup matches and set a goal record on Monday with 18 since his debut. But Messi has not scored at all tournaments, drawing a blank in 2010.

Ronaldo’s overall numbers are 145 goals from 230 caps, both world records, as he finally joined Messi (five goals), Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland (four each) and Harry Kane (two) on the superstar tournament scoresheet, with Kane playing his second match later Tuesday.

Portugal in general and Ronaldo in particular were criticized for their lackluster opener against Congo and they started out determined to make up for it on Tuesday.

Ronaldo just failed to properly connect with Nuno Mendes’ cross before the superstar added another chapter of football history to his name in the sixth minute.

Ronaldo ran towards the near post to drill a sharp cross from the right by João Cancelo into the bottom corner with his right foot, setting off wild scenes culminating in his iconic Siuuu celebration move, which large parts of the stadium joined.

Portugal had opened the scoring in the same minute against Congo, but this time it didn’t switch off and held a 2-0 lead after 17 minutes.

They won a free kick on the edge of the penalty area, and while everyone believed that Ronaldo would execute it, it was Paris Saint-Germain defender Mendes instead who fired into the bottom left corner, with goalkeeper Abduvokhid Nematov not looking good.

Uzbekistan thought it had pulled one back from Azizbek Ganiev’s sensational drive into the top corner, but the goal was nullified upon review because of a foul in the build-up.

Portugal answered in the best possible way with a third goal in the 39th, Premier League’s Fernandes setting up Ronaldo perfectly to slot into the far left corner.

Portugal had another free-kick trick up its sleeve when Fernandes chipped the ball over the wall to Ronaldo, who was however beaten to the ball by Nematov in a collision that briefly floored Ronaldo.

But it was 4-0 on the ensuing corner kick when the ball bounced in off Manchester City’s Khusanov and Nematov’s arm. Leão wrapped up matters into the top corner five minutes after coming in.

“This was the response we had in the dressing room,” Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said. “There are times when you need a game like the first one in order to grow in the tournament.

“Today we saw a team with the same attitude and commitment, but with greater maturity because it was no longer the opening match. I’m very pleased with the result.”

Benjamin Asare, Ghana hold England to scoreless draw

(FLM) — Benjamin Asare made five stops, his back line defended resiliently and Ghana held England to a 0-0 draw in Tuesday’s Group L encounter in Foxborough, Mass.

England (1-0-1, 4 points) came closest to scoring on Ghana (1-0-1, 4 points) in the 86th minute when Nico O’Reilly rattled the crossbar with a header and Harry Kane followed the miss with a first-time half-volley that sailed high.

The Three Lions outshot the Black Stars 19-2 overall and 5-0 in efforts on target, yet failed in their bid to complete a perfect World Cup group stage for the first time since 1982.

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Both teams remain in a strong position to advance to the last 32, as they sit tied atop Group L. Croatia (1-1-0, 3 points) defeated Panama (0-2-0, 0 points) 1-0 in the second group clash Tuesday to earn their first points of the tournament.

Ghana seek to advance beyond the group stage for the first time since 2010, when they reached the quarterfinals and were eliminated on penalties to Uruguay following Luis Suarez’s infamous handball to deny the Black Stars a potential winning goal.

England outpossessed Ghana by nearly a 4-to-1 ratio before halftime and held the Africans without a single shot attempt. But they also managed only six of their own and none on target.

The Three Lions finally put one on frame in a 57th-minute sequence, with Anthony Gordon’s deflected effort finally forcing Asare into a stop after Noni Madueke’s promising attempt from the right side of the penalty area was headed clear.

England might have been fortunate when Prince Adu was whistled for a foul after he and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford collided racing after a 50-50 ball.

Replays suggested Pickford was in the wrong, but it was neither a penalty nor a red-card offense, so it was not reviewable.

In the 79th minute, referee Said Martinez again opted not to blow a whistle after English defender Ezri Konsa’s airborne challenge to disrupt Adu on the break.

After that, the pressure was mostly on Ghana’s end. Following O’Reilly’s and Kane’s misses, Marc Guehi saw his header cleared off the line, though it might have been heading wide.

Croatia push
past Panama
1-0, remain
third in Group L

(FLM) — Halftime substitute Ante Budimir scored in the 54th minute and Croatia eliminated Panama from World Cup contention with a tightly fought 1-0 victory in a Group L clash at Toronto on Tuesday.

It was the first World Cup goal for Budimir, 34, and fifth in a competitive fixture for his country, all of those coming since 2023.

Croatia (1-1-0, 3 points) remain third in the group heading into the final matchday, but they can guarantee a top-two finish with a victory over Ghana in their final match on Saturday in Philadelphia.

Panama (0-2-0, 0 points) are still seeking their first point five matches into their World Cup history, having also lost 1-0 to Ghana in their 2026 opener in Toronto last week.

However, despite playing the first two matches without injured talisman Adalberto Carrasquilla, Los Canaleros have a goal differential six better than at this stage in their first World Cup appearance in 2018.

Budimir put Croatia in front on what was easily their best attack of the match to that point.

Josip Stanisic combined with Marco Pasalic to get down the right, then struck a well-weighted cross to the top of the 6-yard box.

Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera dove to try and intercept the service but couldn’t reach it, and Budimir showed up at the back post to guide in a composed finish into an open goal.

With that, the match erupted for about 15 minutes.

Three minutes after the goal, Croatia captain Luka Modric played Pasalic in alone on goal from his own half. Mosquera sized up Pasalic and charged from his line at the right time to smother the initial attempt, and Pasalic fired wide from a poor angle on the rebound.

Panama responded to force Dominik Livakovic into three stops inside of a minute. The third was probably the best, as Livakovic leaped to deny Carlos Harvey’s header from a corner lofted to the back post.

The second-half hydration break followed that sequence, and perhaps disrupted Panama’s momentum, with Livakovic unthreatened in the final stages.

The Central Americans will now look to play spoilers against England in their finale Saturday in East Rutherford, N.J. Earlier Tuesday, England (1-0-1, 4 points) settled for a 0-0 draw with Ghana (1-0-1, 4 points).

Munoz sends Colombia into
last 32 with win over DR Congo

GUADALAJARA, Mexico (Reuters) — Colombia secured their place in the World Cup Round of 32 with a game to spare after a 1-0 victory over DR Congo in Group K on Tuesday, with Daniel Munoz scoring the winner after the South Americans had been frustrated for much of the evening.

Colombia moved to six points from two matches and guaranteed their progress to the knockout stage ahead of their final group game against Portugal, who beat Uzbekistan 5-0 earlier on Tuesday.

DR Congo remained on one point and will need a result against Uzbekistan to keep their qualification hopes alive.

Colombia dominated possession and created the better chances throughout but were repeatedly denied by goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi, who produced a series of saves to keep out efforts from James Rodriguez, Luis Diaz and Jhon Arias.

The breakthrough finally arrived in the 76th minute when Juan Quintero’s pass found Munoz surging into the penalty area and the defender fired a low shot that took a deflection on its way past Mpasi.

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