Cristiano Ronaldo Dominates World Cup Day 13 with Two Goals
Cristiano Ronaldo roared his way back into the World Cup story on Day 13. Two goals, a camera-snarl of “I’m back, I’m back,” and a 5-0 demolition of Uzbekistan dragged Portugal’s campaign out of neutral and straight into the fast lane.
Around him, the tournament tightened. Heavyweights cruised through, a few hopefuls crashed out, and England stumbled into the kind of goalless stalemate that drains belief as much as it does energy.
This was the day the second round of group games closed. It did not drift quietly.
Ronaldo lights the fuse
Roberto Martinez kept faith with Cristiano Ronaldo. He had been hammered for it after the flat 1-1 draw with DR Congo. He did not blink.
Six minutes in, the decision looked like a masterstroke. Joao Cancelo slid a pass into the box, Ronaldo spun sharply and lashed a finish inside the near post. One touch to set, one to bury. Another slice of history: the first player ever to score in six World Cups.
From there, Ronaldo turned conductor.
Over a free-kick that looked made for his trademark knuckleball, he ran up, shaped to strike, then stepped over it. Nuno Mendes arrived instead and drilled in Portugal’s second from the edge of the area on 17 minutes. A small detail, but a telling one. The old poacher showing he can still play the foil.
Before half-time, he was back on the end of things. Bruno Fernandes threaded a perfectly weighted pass into space, and Ronaldo burst clear, timing his run, picking his moment, and finishing with clinical calm in the 39th minute. Vintage movement, ruthless execution.
Uzbekistan folded. An own goal on the hour mark deepened the damage, and Rafael Leao added a late fifth on 87 minutes to complete the rout. By then, the contest had long since turned into a statement.
At the whistle, Ronaldo sought the nearest TV camera and delivered his verdict: “I’m back, I’m back.” On the numbers, he certainly is. He has now overtaken Eusebio as Portugal’s all-time top scorer at World Cups.
He insisted the collective still comes first.
“I’m very happy but, for me, the most important thing is our work and the confidence we showed,” he said. “Obviously personal records are always nice but my goal is always to help the team achieve its objectives.”
With that, Portugal’s World Cup stopped feeling like a nostalgia tour and started to look like a live threat.
Colombia through as Munoz breaks DR Congo
In the same Group K, Colombia did the less glamorous work and got the same reward: progress.
Up against a stubborn DR Congo side in Guadalajara, they pushed, prodded and ran into a goalkeeper in inspired form. Lionel Mpasi kept them at bay for more than 75 minutes, turning the match into a test of Colombian patience as much as quality.
The resistance finally snapped with 14 minutes to go. Daniel Munoz found the breakthrough, his late strike sealing a 1-0 win and booking Colombia’s place in the round of 32. No flourish, no drama. Just a hard-earned victory that carries weight deep into a tournament.
England stall, Ghana stand firm
Where Portugal and Colombia surged, England sagged.
Thomas Tuchel’s side, fresh from a thrilling 4-2 win over Croatia, laboured through a flat 0-0 draw with Ghana in Group L. The tempo was off, the ideas blunt, the cutting edge missing.
The game began in a storm of noise, but not for the football. Boos rang around as Thomas Partey’s name was read out. Ghana’s midfield anchor is set to stand trial next year for rape and sexual assault, charges he denies. The hostility framed the opening, and the football never quite shook it off.
On the pitch, Ghana did what they have done consistently at this World Cup: defended with discipline and clarity. England had the ball, Ghana had the structure. The first half ended without a single shot on target from either side, a damning statistic for a match loaded with attacking talent.
Tuchel turned to his bench. It almost worked. Substitute Nico O’Reilly rose to meet a cross and saw his header crash off the bar. Later, with four minutes left, Harry Kane found the chance every centre-forward wants. He leaned back and sent it sailing over.
He knew what it meant.
“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 game still found room for a flashpoint. Cameras picked up Djed Spence appearing to ignore Partey in the pre-match handshakes, a small gesture that will fuel debate far beyond the tactical analysis.
For England, the table offers comfort. The performance does not.
Modric hits 200 as Croatia cling on
In Group L’s other match, Croatia refused to let their World Cup fade quietly.
Ante Budimir struck in the 54th minute at BMO Field, his goal enough for a tight 1-0 win over Panama that keeps Croatia alive in the race for the round of 32. It was not a spectacle, but it was a survival act.
The night, though, belonged to Luka Modric.
At 200 caps, he joined an exclusive club, becoming only the fourth player in history to reach that landmark. The number is staggering; the influence remains undimmed. He pulled strings, dictated tempo, and once again made Croatia’s football look smarter when the ball ran through his feet.
Panama’s defeat came with a heavier cost. It confirmed their elimination from the tournament, ending their campaign with a whimper on a night framed by a Croatian legend’s milestone.
The field starts to thin
With the second round of group fixtures complete, the World Cup’s shape is finally emerging.
Several teams have already booked their tickets to the round of 32: Mexico from Group A, the United States from Group D, Germany from Group E, and a powerful double from Group I in France and Norway. Argentina are safely through from Group J, and Colombia’s win over DR Congo seals top-two progress from Group K.
Others have reached the end of the road. Haiti are out from Group C, Turkey from Group D, Tunisia from Group F, Jordan from Group J, and now Panama from Group L.
The stakes rise sharply on Day 14. Twelve teams from Groups A to C will learn their fate, some by inches rather than strides. The format is ruthless: the top two in each group advance automatically, joined by the best eight third-place teams.
There is another twist. Head-to-head results, not goal difference, serve as the primary tiebreaker for teams level on points. Only then come goal differential, then goals scored. If that still fails to separate sides, the fair play score steps in.
Yellow cards, red cards, discipline in the heat of battle – all suddenly matter. The fewer cards, the better the score, and potentially the longer the stay at this World Cup.
Margins are narrowing. Tempers will be tested.
Trump to lift the trophy
Away from the pitch, FIFA confirmed a striking image for the final act.
US President Donald Trump will present the World Cup trophy to the winners on 19 July, sharing the stage with FIFA president Gianni Infantino. The pair will jointly hand the trophy to the captain of the victorious side.
“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.”
The announcement revives memories of last year’s Club World Cup, when Trump co-presented the trophy with Infantino and then lingered on the stage during Chelsea’s celebrations, to widespread bemusement.
Whatever happens on the pitch, the final will close with politics and football sharing the same podium.
Vikings on the march
Norway, meanwhile, secured their own place in the knockout rounds with enough swagger to go viral all over again.
Qualification alone would have been cause for celebration. Instead, the Norwegians marked it with their now-iconic Viking Row, the choreographed, chest-thumping ritual that has become one of this World Cup’s defining images of unity and joy.
It was a reminder that, amid the pressure, the tournament still belongs to those who can seize the moment and revel in it.
On a day when Ronaldo reclaimed centre stage, Modric reached 200, England stumbled, and the field thinned, Norway’s players rowed together into the knockout waters.
The question now is simple: who will still be rowing when the trophy is finally lifted in July?
