HOUSTON: Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo entered the record books after scoring against Uzbekistan in the FIFA World Cup 2026 at the Houston Stadium.
Ronaldo, 41, gave his side an early lead, finishing an assist from Joao Cancelo and finding the back of the net in an impressive way.
With this strike, he became the second-oldest in FIFA World Cup history, at 41 years, 138 days, behind Cameroon’s Roger Milla in 1994, who scored against Russia at 42 years and 39 days.
Oldest Players To Score At FIFA World Cups
Roger Milla, 42 years and 39 days, against Russia in 1994
Cristiano Ronaldo, 41 years and 138 days, against Uzbekistan
Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel
Later on, he scored his second goal of the night to become the all-time leading scorer for Portugal, surpassing Eusebio as the country’s leading scorer in the competition. In addition, he also became the first player to score in six different World Cup tournaments.
Leading Goal Scorers For Portugal At FIFA World Cups
Cristiano Ronaldo – 10*
Eusebio – 9
Pauleta – 4
Coming into the fixture, Ronaldo was under serious criticism with critics calling to be dropped.
After the first match, team manager Roberto Martinez and teammates defended Ronaldo.
“Cristiano is the best one to do that,” Roberto Martinez responded when asked what’s needed to spark the Portugal attack.
“The numbers support this of this iconic player who is Cristiano Ronaldo. If you look at the past 32 games, he is the player that has extra movement opening spaces and finding pockets.”
Catch all FIFA World Cup 2026 live updates here!
Midfielder Joao Neves also defended the star player after he was unable to score in the opening game.
“We know what Ronaldo has done for our national team, but at this moment I feel that for him, and for everyone, he’s one of us,” Neves said. “He’s one more player trying to help, he’s no different to the others. He’s here to contribute like we all will.”
Starting XIs
Portugal: Diogo Costa, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Renato Veiga, Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, Joao Neves, Bruno Fernandes, Pedro Neto, Joao Felix and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Uzbekistan: Abduvohid Nematov, Abdukodir Khusanov, Rustam Ashurmatov, Sherzod Nasrullaev, Abdulla Abdullaev, Behruzjon Karimov, Odiljon Xamrobekov, Otabek Shukurov, Azizjon Ganiev, Abbosbek Fayzullaev, Eldor Shomurodov.
