Cristiano Ronaldo needed only six minutes to change the match. João Cancelo picked him out with a cross, Ronaldo met it with his right foot, and Portugal moved in front 1-0 against Uzbekistán on Tuesday.
The goal did more than settle the early rhythm of the game. At 41 years old, Ronaldo became the first player to score in six different World Cup editions, adding another line to a record that already stretched through 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026. It was also his 230th international appearance, a number that underlines how long he has remained central to Portugal's attack.
That is why readers were looking for Portugal Vs Uzbekistan Football Match Starting Lineups as the game began: this was not just another group-stage entry, but a chance for Ronaldo to answer the criticism that followed Portugal's 1-1 draw against Congo, when he did not score. On Tuesday, he did what the previous match had not allowed him to do, and he did it before Uzbekistan had settled.
The contrast with Monday's headlines around Lionel Messi sharpened the scale of the moment. Messi had scored a hat trick against Algeria in Argentina's debut and then added two more goals against Austria, leaving the two men tied in the public conversation again, though Ronaldo's record now stands alone in one respect. Both have appeared in six World Cups, but only Ronaldo has found the net in all six.
Portugal did not need a long match to understand what the early goal meant. Ronaldo's finish turned a search for starting lineups into a record watch, and it gave him nine World Cup goals overall. The unanswered piece is not whether he still belongs on the biggest stage; it is how far this run can go if this really is his last World Cup.
