Portugal 3-0 Uzbekistan. A strong performance from Portugal in Houston, against a side that could not cope with the European threat of Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Nuno Mendes and Rafael Leao. Diogo Costa had worried he’d lost his clean sheet, but the footballing gods were on his side.
He chased the hattrick for so long, but it wasn’t to be for Cristiano Ronaldo today, against Uzbekistan. After a shaky start from Portugal in their opening game against DR Congo, the pressure had mounted on Roberto Martinez, who has received a lot of criticism regarding his tactics, but Ronaldo and his crew put it to bed and now look like they are strong contenders once more. Argentina, France, Spain, Brazil, Netherlands, we can now add Portugal to the list of nations that will continue to rise and prove to be a major threat.
Uzbekistan had thought they got their first historic World Cup goal in the thirtieth minute, but Joao Cancelo had been fouled. Portugal comfortably won their second game in Group K in the end, winning 5-0. Goals from Rafael Leão 87′, Abduvokhid Nematov 60′ (OG), Cristiano Ronaldo 39′, 6′ and Nuno Mendes 17′
Fair criticism after their opener, or just an overreaction from the media and football fans?
A lot of criticism aimed towards the national side after they had drawn against DR Congo was that they were unable to create clear chances against a very strong side, well set-up; this was nothing but, this was Uzbekistan’s first ever World Cup and they have found it difficult to maintain a high-level in their first matches. Their first match against Colombia was a lot tighter, despite the scoreline, but in the end, Uzbekistan were no match for the South American side, today, they came up against arguably one of the most complete sides in the entire tournament. Portugal showed today that they have massive quality across the board, in every single position. PSG’s Nuno Mendes scored a fantastic freekick after Cristiano Ronaldo had created a decoy, and Portugal capitalized in the second half to put the game to bed, with an own goal from Abduvokhid Nematov, the Uzbek goalkeeper, before Rafael Leao scored the fifth and final goal.
Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha and Joao Neves, possibly the strongest midfield of the entire tournament, didn’t have a lot to do today, with the trio being in control for the entire length of the match, it will be fascinating to see what they can do against Colombia in the final group stage match on Saturday, arguably their strongest challenge until the knockout stages.
The stars are out in full force in this World Cup so far. Vinicius Jr scored in Brazil’s opener, Lionel Messi has reminded the world just who he was, whilst Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane all continue to deliver, this is what makes them elite footballers, when the pressure rises, they deliver. Pressure makes diamonds, and these athletes just continue to show up and remind people that they do it differently.