Cristiano Ronaldo made Portugal score inside 6 minutes against Uzbekistan and turned a tense Group K start into an early lead. The goal also pushed him into a record no other player has reached: scoring in six editions of the World Cup.
Ronaldo Strikes Early
Fernandes sent in a free kick from the left, and Ronaldo finished the move to put Portugal ahead in the sixth minute. He answered the pressure on Roberto Martinez’s side with the quickest kind of response, before the match could settle into its pattern.
Ronaldo then marked the moment with “Siuuuuu”. That was the milestone: a scorer in six editions, with Lionel Messi and Fabio Cannavaro among the names in the wider World Cup conversation, but no one matching that span.
VAR And Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan had already made Portugal work. Ganiev sent a shot into the top left corner from about 22 yards, but VAR ruled it out after Cancelo said “he was fouled in the build-up by Fayzullaev”. Nematov had been beaten by the strike, but the review erased the goal.
Fabio Cannavaro’s side came into the match after a 3-1 loss to Colombia, while Portugal were still carrying the weight of a 1-1 draw with DR Congo. That draw had left Roberto Martinez under scrutiny, so Ronaldo’s early goal shifted the tone immediately without settling anything beyond the first minutes.
Ashurmatov Collision
Ronaldo was later down after a 50-50 collision with Ashurmatov in the 37th minute. The match had already moved through the opening burst, the disallowed Uzbekistan goal, and the reminder that one lead in Group K does not erase the rest of the game.
For Portugal, the next phase of the match was about protecting the early edge and carrying a cleaner scoreline than the one that drew criticism before this game. For Ronaldo, the six-minute goal stands as the number that now defines the night: an opening finish and a World Cup record in the same swing.
