Cristiano Ronaldo ignites Portugal with historic World Cup goals
Cristiano Ronaldo roared his way back into the World Cup story on Day 13. Two goals, a statement into the nearest TV camera, and a reminder that, even at 41, he still bends tournaments to his will.
By the time Portugal were done with Uzbekistan, the scoreline read 5-0 and Group K had a very different feel.
Ronaldo ignites Portugal
Roberto Martinez had been hammered for sticking with Ronaldo after the laboured 1-1 draw with DR Congo. He doubled down. Ronaldo paid him back in six minutes.
Joao Cancelo slipped a ball into the box, Ronaldo spun sharply and lashed his finish inside the near post. One touch to set, one to finish, and history with it: the first player ever to score in six World Cups.
From there, Portugal loosened up. Ronaldo even turned decoy. Over a free-kick on 17 minutes, he shaped to strike, the stadium braced, and he simply stepped over the ball. Nuno Mendes arrived from deep, whipped his shot from the edge of the area and buried Portugal’s second.
Uzbekistan were hanging on. Bruno Fernandes then split them open with a perfectly weighted pass in the 39th minute, Ronaldo bursting through the middle. One stride, two, and a cold, low finish for 3-0. Vintage movement, ruthless end product.
An own goal on the hour mark deepened Uzbekistan’s misery, and Rafael Leao added a late fifth in the 87th minute, a flourish to a performance that finally looked like a heavyweight waking up.
At full-time, Ronaldo stared down the lens and barked: “I’m back, I’m back.” On the numbers, he is. He has now overtaken Eusebio as Portugal’s all-time top scorer at World Cups.
“I’m very happy but, for me, the most important thing is our work and the confidence we showed,” he said afterwards. “Obviously personal records are always nice but my goal is always to help the team achieve its objectives.”
Group K has been warned.
Colombia edge through the gears
The other game in Portugal’s group never came close to such chaos, but it mattered just as much.
Colombia had to grind. DR Congo’s goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi turned in a stubborn, at times outstanding display, parrying, blocking, and clawing away crosses as Colombian pressure mounted in Guadalajara.
The resistance finally cracked with 14 minutes left. Daniel Munoz arrived to finish and drag Colombia over the line for a 1-0 win that seals their place in the round of 32. Not pretty, but decisive. In tournament football, that’s enough.
England stall, Ghana stand firm
Across in Group L, the mood was very different. England 0, Ghana 0. Noise, controversy, and almost nothing in the way of chances.
The evening began with boos. As the teams lined up, sections of the crowd jeered Thomas Partey, who is set to stand trial next year for rape and sexual assault, charges he denies. The tension around him hung over the opening stages.
On the pitch, Ghana were exactly what they have been all tournament: disciplined, compact, unforgiving without the ball. One of the best defensive units at World Cup 2026. England, just days removed from a wild 4-2 win over Croatia, looked flat.
Thomas Tuchel’s side hogged possession but rarely hurt the Black Stars. The first half drifted by without a single shot on target from either team. England’s passing slowed, Ghana’s back line stayed intact, and the game sank into a stalemate.
There were flickers. Substitute Nico O’Reilly rose to meet a cross and saw his header crash against the bar. Late on, with four minutes to play, Harry Kane finally got the chance he wanted and skied it, leaning back as the ball sailed over.
“Yeah, it’s one of those games, a difficult team to break down and obviously we had loads of possession of the ball,” Kane told the BBC. “Probably the last 15 minutes of both halves we were at our best and had some chances, I had a good chance and hit the bar with Nico [O’Reilly] as well.
“Look, we wanted the win but we take the point and we’re still in a great position in the group.”
The flashpoint away from the football came before kick-off, when cameras appeared to show Djed Spence refusing to shake Partey’s hand in the pre-match line. In a drab contest, that image may linger longer than any passage of play.
Modric hits 200 as Croatia cling on
The other game in Group L felt smaller on the scoreboard but heavier in symbolism.
At BMO Field, Luka Modric pulled on a Croatia shirt for the 200th time. Only three men in history had ever reached that landmark before him. He did more than make up the numbers.
Croatia needed a result to stay alive. Ante Budimir provided it in the 54th minute, his goal enough for a 1-0 victory over Panama that keeps their hopes of the round of 32 intact and confirms Panama’s elimination.
Modric, as so often, stitched Croatia’s play together, dictating tempo and angles as if this were his first World Cup, not another chapter in a career that refuses to fade.
The bracket starts to take shape
Day 13 wrapped up the second round of group fixtures. The next step is brutal: the final round, where campaigns are either launched or buried.
Several heavyweights are already safely through to the round of 32:
- Mexico from Group A
- United States from Group D
- Germany from Group E
- France and Norway from Group I
- Argentina from Group J
- Colombia from Group K
Others have already seen the door close:
- Haiti (Group C)
- Turkey (Group D)
- Tunisia (Group F)
- Jordan (Group J)
- Panama (Group L)
Day 14 will be decisive for 12 teams across Groups A to C. The equation is simple on paper and savage in reality: the top two in each group go through automatically, joined by the eight best third-placed teams.
But this World Cup is using head-to-head results as the first tiebreaker when teams finish level on points. Only then come goal difference, then goals scored. If that still doesn’t split them, fair play points step in, with yellow and red cards potentially deciding who flies home and who survives.
Discipline, for once, could be as valuable as a late winner.
Trump to hand over the trophy
Away from the group-stage calculations, FIFA confirmed the image that will define the final night in July.
US President Donald Trump will present the World Cup trophy to the winners on 19 July, standing alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino. The pair will jointly hand the trophy to the captain of the victorious team.
“We will be together with the president [Trump] enjoying the final and handing the trophy to the winner, of course, together,” Infantino told Fox & Friends. “We are together all the time.”
Trump has already had a rehearsal of sorts, having co-presented the Club World Cup trophy with Infantino last year. That ceremony turned awkward when he stayed on the stage and joined in Chelsea’s celebrations, leaving some players visibly unsure how to react.
This time, the stakes – and the spotlight – will be far bigger.
Vikings on the march
Norway, meanwhile, are not waiting around for drama. Their place in the knockouts is already secured, and they marked it with a now-familiar sight: the entire squad lined up, dropping into their viral Viking Row celebration.
It was more than a meme. It was a signal that the so-called outsiders from Group I intend to be a serious problem in the latter stages.
Ronaldo is scoring, Modric is still ticking, new nations are crashing the party, and the final round of group games is about to begin. This World Cup is starting to feel like it belongs to no one—and to everyone who dares to grab it.
