And finally - siuu! Ronaldo marches into history with a brace against Uzbekistan

It was boiling inside his mind and body these last few days under pressure; the tension was palpable, and then, finally, he nailed it!

Cristiano Ronaldo has finally scored, not one, but two to make history and become the first player ever to score in six different World Cups as Portugal dismantled Uzbekistan 5-0 in their Group K clash in Houston on Tuesday night.

Just a day after his eternal nemesis, Lionel Messi, broke another record by becoming the top goal scorer in WC history, CR7 accepted the challenge. He made a statement, embellished with his trademark 'siuu' celebration.

It took Ronaldo only six minutes to break the deadlock and the mental barrier today. He had faced an avalanche of criticism after a deplorable display in the opening match against DR Congo. This time, he was merciless. Truth to be told, Fabio Cannavaro's side is nowhere near the Leopards. Manchester City's Abdukodir Khusanov might be one of the finest defenders in the world at the moment, but not even he could prevent the Asians from a proper battering.

Joao Cancelo did most of the hard work on the right-hand side before finding Cristiano in the box. It was a routine finish. You could almost feel the relief once the ball ended in the back of the net: 1-0.

Twenty years and six days after his maiden WC goal, against Iran in the 2006 FIFA WC, the Portuguese forward registered his ninth, then added another near the half-time break to make it 3-0.

Nuno Mendes separated those two Ronaldo goals with a stunning free-kick to double the lead. Even then, everyone at the stadium expected to see Ronaldo taking it. That probably fooled the Uzbekistan team, too.

The whole stadium was focused on Ronaldo, but it was the PSG player who fired it in perfectly at that time. Later, from a counter, Bruno Fernandes served it on a plate for CR7. He slotted it smoothly for a much-deserved 3-0 lead.

It was crystal clear at that point that the tie was wrapped up, but Portugal, led by Ronaldo, kept pushing for more after the break. We saw a set-piece artistry as Cristiano made a run into the box while Bruno chipped it smoothly for him, but Nematov made a save, thus postponing a goal. For not more than 30 seconds. The Portugal corner from the right came in low; Joao Felix got a flick on it, while Khusanov and Nematov helped a lot with their clumsy reactions for an own goal, 4-0.

The debutants responded through their captain, Shomurodov, but his effort went over the bar as they struggled to create more chances in Portugal's box.

Portugal, however, didn't want to stop there, as the second-half substitute Rafael Leao pounced on a loose ball to make it 5-0 with a superb piece of finishing.

Uzbekistan's first-ever World Cup appearance will definitely be put to bed if DR Congo beats Colombia. On the other hand, Portugal and Colombia are expected to decide the group winner in their last round clash on Sunday.

WORLD CUP - GROUP STAGE (ROUND 2)

Group K

Tuesday 23.06

Portugal - Uzbekistan 5-0 (3-0)

/Ronaldo 6, 39, Mendes 17, Nematov 60 og, Leao 88/

Wednesday 24.06.

05.00: (1.50) Colombia (3.90) DR Congo (7.75)

***odds are subject to change***