(Getty Images)
Cristiano Ronaldo defied his critics with a sublime all-round performance as Portugal hit five past a luckless Uzbekistan side.
Ronaldo scored twice, becoming the first man to score at six different World Cup finals tournaments and overtake Eusébio as the nations’ leading scorer at World Cups, but also played his role by tacking back and harrying the hapless Uzbek defence.
Ronaldo’s first was a superb finish at the near post, his second equally impressive as he latched onto a sublime through ball from Bruno Fernandes to announce that he is not yet done as a force at the top level.
Nuno Mendes scored a free kick either side of Ronaldo’s double, with Ronaldo acting as the decoy to fool the Uzbek defence.
A calamitous Abduvohid Nematov own goal gave Portugal a fourth, before a stunning finish from Rafael Leão completed the scoring.
Portugal managed more shots on target in this game (8) than they managed in total in their opener against DR Congo (7), as one of the pre-tournament favourites hit its stride for the first time.