A ruthless first-half performance saw Portugal tear through Uzbekistan to establish a commanding 3-0 lead in their World Cup Group K clash.
Roberto Martinez’s side wasted no time asserting their dominance against Fabio Cannavaro’s men. Cristiano Ronaldo broke the deadlock in the seventh minute by ghosting behind the Uzbek defence to slot home a pinpoint cross from Joao Cancelo. Just ten minutes later Portugal doubled their advantage. Bypassing expectations of a trademark Ronaldo strike, Nuno Mendes stepped up to a dangerous free-kick and hammered a low shot into the bottom corner.
Uzbekistan struggled to cope with the relentless tempo but thought they had found a spectacular 29th-minute lifeline. Aziz Ganiev unleashed a breathtaking long-range strike into the top corner of the net, only for VAR to cruelly rule it out for a foul in the build-up.
Capitalising on that heartbreak, Portugal struck a crushing blow just before half-time. In the 38th minute, a swift counter-attack released Ronaldo into space and the veteran forward clinically rolled the ball into the far corner to claim his brace and put the game entirely out of reach.
