06/23/26 11:10:00
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06/23 23:08 CDT Cristiano Ronaldo roars back with 2 goals as Portugal beats
Uzbekistan 5-0 at the World Cup
Cristiano Ronaldo roars back with 2 goals as Portugal beats Uzbekistan 5-0 at
the World Cup
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
AP Sports Writer
HOUSTON (AP) --- Cristiano Ronaldo rebounded from a lackluster start to his
sixth World Cup and led Portugal to a dominant victory over Uzbekistan on
Tuesday, renewing hope that the team is a contender for the title.
Ronaldo scored two goals to help Portugal roll to a 5-0 win and move on from
its disappointing performance in the opening 1-1 draw with Congo.
"We improved," Ronaldo said in Portuguese. "It's life, sometimes you will have
challenges and the main goal is always to improve and that's what we did."
The 41-year-old Ronaldo became the first player to score in six World Cup
tournaments, adding another impressive accomplishment to his storied career. He
was named man of the match.
Portugal has four points in Group K. Colombia moved back atop the group with
six points when it beat Congo 1-0 in Guadalajara, Mexico, late Tuesday night.
Some critics questioned if Ronaldo should remain in the starting lineup after a
forgettable performance against Congo. But coach Roberto Martnez stuck with
the superstar and his decision paid off almost immediately with Ronaldo putting
the team up 1-0 in the sixth minute.
Martnez said the veterans on his team used their experience to calm the group
and keep the negativity from impacting them on Tuesday.
"The discipline, the way we executed the game was fantastic," Martnez said.
"And I think that shows you that the maturity in that dressing room allowed us
to use the noise in a positive way. But easily in another dressing room it
could have been fatal."
Ronaldo said it was a difficult week, one that was especially tough on him and
his coach because most of the criticism went toward them.
"But it's always like that, it doesn't matter, because it's been 23 years on
the job and when things go well, ?Cristiano is good,' when things go bad,
?Cristiano is a retired player, is old,'" he said. "It will always be like
that. But we responded well today, me and my teammates, which is what we
wanted."
Ronaldo put Joao Cancelo's cross into the net with his right foot to make his
latest mark on history. He then made his signature SIUUU celebration before
running toward the bench and celebrating with his teammates.
Ronaldo got another in the 39th minute when he got a pass from Bruno Fernandes
and scored with his right foot just inside the near post to make it 3-0. Nuno
Mendes had made it 2-0 off a free kick in the 17th minute.
Portugal took a 4-0 lead on an own-goal in the 60th minute. Rafael Leao, who
entered the game in the 83rd, extended the advantage to 5-0 in the 87th minute.
He crouched down, smiled and posed for the camera after his score.
Uzbekistan midfielder Azizjon Ganiev looked to have scored in the 30th minute,
but it was overturned after a video review showed Abbosbek Fayzullaev fouled
Joao Cancelo just before the play.
Uzbekistan coach Fabio Cannavaro, whose team is playing at the World Cup for
the first time, took responsibility for the loss.
"We lost 5-0 today because I made mistakes, not them," said the coach, who
captained Italy to the 2006 World Cup title.
While Martnez kept Ronaldo as a starter, he did make two changes to the
lineup. He benched midfielder Bernardo Silva for Joao Flix and started
defender Rben Dias, who sat out the opener with an injury, over Tomas Arajo.
Ronaldo had a great chance to score in the fourth minute when he took a cross
from Mendes and just missed with his right foot as he slid to the grass. He
shook his head and made a hand gesture indicating it was close. But it wasn't
long before he scored put Portugal on top.
He had a chance for a hat trick at the end of second-half injury time, but his
shot was just off.
Uzbekistan plays on Saturday night in Atlanta against Congo. Portugal faces
Colombia on Saturday night in Miami Gardens, Florida, to determine the group
winner.
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
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