Ronaldo Ignites Portugal's World Cup Campaign

Cristiano Ronaldo roared his way back into this World Cup with the kind of statement performance only he seems able to summon on demand.

Two goals, a 5-0 rout of Uzbekistan, and a message barked straight into the television cameras at full-time: “I’m back, I’m back.” On Day 13 in North America, there was no arguing with him.

This was the night Portugal’s campaign finally caught fire, on a day when England stalled, Croatia clung on, Colombia advanced and the tournament’s knockout picture began to sharpen.

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 repaid him in six minutes.

Joao Cancelo slid a pass into the box, Ronaldo spun sharply and drilled his finish inside the near post. One touch to set, one to bury. He is now the first player ever to score in six World Cups, another absurd line added to a career already drowning in them.

The goal settled Portugal. It also loosened Ronaldo. He stopped chasing the game and started dictating it.

On 17 minutes, everyone inside the stadium expected the familiar routine: Ronaldo over a free-kick, deep breath, trademark stance. Instead, he ran over the ball, left it for Nuno Mendes, and watched his teammate lash in from the edge of the box. A small moment, but a telling one. The superstar as decoy, not just finisher.

By the 39th minute, it was turning into a procession. Bruno Fernandes clipped a perfectly weighted ball through the inside-right channel and Ronaldo devoured the space, striding clear before finishing with icy precision. Two goals, game done, debate over.

Uzbekistan’s resistance crumbled. An own goal on 60 minutes pushed Portugal further clear, and Rafael Leao’s late strike on 87 minutes put a shine on a scoreline that matched the performance: ruthless, controlled, emphatic.

Ronaldo walked off with another slice of history. He is now Portugal’s all-time leading scorer at World Cups, moving past the legendary Eusebio. The numbers matter to him; he admitted as much. But he framed them in the language of the collective.

“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.”

On this evidence, Portugal’s objectives can be ambitious.

Colombia through as Munoz breaks DR Congo

In the same Group K, Colombia punched their ticket to the round of 32, but they had to grind for it.

DR Congo’s Lionel Mpasi turned the match in Guadalajara into a personal showcase for long stretches, repelling wave after wave of Colombian pressure. Colombia probed, switched play, tried to draw the Congolese line out of shape. Mpasi kept saying no.

The resistance finally cracked with 14 minutes to play. Daniel Munoz surged forward and, with the kind of composure the game had been crying out for, found the finish to seal a 1-0 win and Colombia’s place in the knockouts.

Portugal and Colombia now look like the heavyweights of Group K. The rest are playing catch-up.

England stall, Ghana stand firm

Over in Group L, the mood was very different. Where Portugal sparkled, England and Ghana served up a stalemate that will test Thomas Tuchel’s patience.

A 0-0 draw, no shots on target in the first half, and an England attack that looked a shadow of the side that hit four past Croatia less than a week ago.

The match began with an edge. Boos rang out for Thomas Partey, Ghana’s midfield anchor, who is set to stand trial next year for rape and sexual assault. He denies the charges, but the reaction from sections of the crowd underlined the tension around his presence. Cameras also picked up what appeared to be Djed Spence declining to shake Partey’s hand before kick-off, adding another layer to a night already charged before a ball was kicked.

Once it did, Ghana reverted to what has made them one of the most awkward teams at this tournament: disciplined lines, aggressive duels, and very little space between the units. England moved the ball, kept it, recycled it. They did not hurt Ghana often enough.

Tuchel’s side controlled possession without conviction. The tempo drifted. Ghana, content to frustrate, rarely committed numbers forward, and the game crawled to the interval without either goalkeeper being tested.

England improved in flashes. Substitute Nico O’Reilly came closest, his header thudding against the bar, a rare crack in Ghana’s defensive wall. Late on, the chance Harry Kane lives for arrived – a clear sight of goal with four minutes left. He leaned back and sent it over.

“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 as well.

“Look, we wanted the win but we take the point and we’re still in a great position in the group.”

The numbers back him up; the performance does not. England leave with a point and a reminder: in tournament football, control without incision is a dangerous habit.

Modric hits 200 as Croatia cling on

The other match in Group L carried a very different kind of significance.

At BMO Field, Luka Modric walked out for his 200th cap, becoming only the fourth player in history to reach that landmark. Even at 38, he still runs Croatia’s games like a conductor who refuses to put the baton down.

This time, his influence underpinned a 1-0 win over Panama that keeps Croatia alive in the tournament. Ante Budimir struck in the 54th minute, his goal the difference in a tight, nervy contest Croatia could not afford to lose.

Modric didn’t need a goal to dominate the occasion. He stitched play together, dictated tempo, and dragged his side through the kind of awkward group-stage fixture that has tripped up better teams than this.

Panama’s defeat confirmed their elimination. Croatia, clinging on, live to fight the final round of group games.

The bracket takes shape

Day 13 wrapped up the second round of group fixtures. From tomorrow, every game carries a finality.

Several heavyweights and dark horses already know their path continues. Mexico are through from Group A. The United States have secured safe passage from Group D. Germany have done the same in Group E.

Group I has produced a double qualifier in France and Norway, while Argentina have taken charge of Group J. Colombia’s win over DR Congo locked in their spot from Group K.

On the other side of the line, the tournament has already claimed its first casualties. Haiti are out of Group C, Turkey have fallen in Group D, Tunisia have exited from Group F, Jordan from Group J and Panama from Group L.

Day 14 will be brutal. Twelve teams from Groups A to C will learn their fate. The equation is simple on paper, less so on the pitch: top two in each group go through automatically, joined by the eight best third-placed teams.

The detail matters. Head-to-head records come first when teams are level on points, then goal difference, then goals scored. If they still cannot be separated, the fair play score steps in – a tally based on yellow and red cards, where fewer bookings mean a better ranking. Discipline could yet decide destinies.

Trump to hand over the trophy

Away from the pitch, FIFA confirmed a decision that will frame the final’s closing images.

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 victorious captain.

“We will be together with the president 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 stood alongside Infantino before, co-presenting the Club World Cup trophy last year. That ceremony turned awkward when he lingered on the podium and drifted into Chelsea’s celebrations, leaving players visibly unsure how to react. This time, the world will be watching again.

Norway’s Viking roar

While some giants stumbled, Norway strode into the knockout rounds with a swagger and a celebration that has already gone viral.

Qualification secured, the squad gathered in front of their fans and launched into their now-iconic Viking Row – a synchronized, chest-thumping ritual that has become one of this World Cup’s defining images. It was part release, part warning.

The group stage is almost done. Ronaldo is scoring, Modric is still weaving, England are searching, and the bracket is starting to close in.

Now comes the part of a World Cup where reputations are either confirmed, rewritten, or shattered. Who dares to grab it?