Ronaldo rises up against the Uzbekistan national team.

Portugal is close to securing its qualification for the Round of 32 in the 2026 North American World Cup, after being led by captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who celebrated being the first player to score in six editions of the World Cup, to a crushing victory over Uzbekistan with a score of five goals to none, today Tuesday, in the second round of the group stage.

Ronaldo opened the scoring in the sixth minute, becoming the second oldest player to score in a World Cup at the age of 41 years and 138 days, behind Cameroon's Roger Milla, who scored at the age of 42 years and 39 days, before Nuno Mendes added the second goal from a direct free kick in the 17th minute.

Ronaldo returned to score the third goal for his country in the 39th minute, surpassing Ozobio, the previous record holder for the most goals scored for Portugal in the World Cup (9 goals), before Abdulkadir Khosanov accidentally added the fourth goal into his own net in the 60th minute, and substitute Rafael Leão capped off the five-goal tally in the 87th minute, temporarily giving Portugal the top spot in Group 11.