Ronaldo comes alive as Portugal overpower Uzbekistan

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice and set up another as Portugal cruised to a dominant Group K victory over Uzbekistan at NRG Stadium, Houston, on Wednesday to move to the top of the standings.

Ronaldo opened the scoring in the sixth minute, peeling away at the near post to meet Joao Cancelo's low cross and fire in. It was his first of six World Cup tournaments — a feat no player has achieved before.

Portugal doubled their lead on the 17th minute through a cleverly disguised free-kick. Ronaldo went through all his usual preparations before standing aside, allowing Nuno Mendes to burst in from the other side and drill low past goalkeeper Abduvokhid Nematov.

Uzbekistan thought they had pulled one back on the 29th minute when Khusanov won the ball and Ganiev struck from 25 yards. The goal was disallowed after a VAR review confirmed a foul in the build-up.

Ronaldo added his second on the 39th minute. Bruno Fernandes slid the ball through to him on the right side of the area and he waited before slotting into the bottom-left corner. It was his 10th World Cup goal.

A corner on the 59th minute produced the fourth. Joao Felix flicked the ball to the near post, where it deflected off Khusanov and into the net via the goalkeeper's glove. The goal was awarded as an own goal.

Rafael Leao, on as a substitute, added the fifth on the 87th minute. Semedo played in a cutback towards Ronaldo, Khusanov intercepted, and the ball fell back to the incoming Leao, who knocked it into the top-left corner from close range.

Ronaldo went close to completing a hat-trick in stoppage time but his sliding effort went wide with the flag up.

Portugal's next match is against Colombia. The South Americans, who beat Uzbekistan 3-1 in their opener, can go top of Group K if they defeat Congo DR in the day's other fixture.