Gary Neville highlights one 'simple' reason Cristiano Ronaldo has thrived for Portugal vs Uzbekistan

Portugal are finally firing on all cylinders as they lead Uzbekistan 3-0 at the break, and main man Cristiano Ronaldo has proved his critics wrong in the process.

It didn't take long for Portugal to assert their dominance, with Ronaldo bagging within six minutes from close range.

That sealed a new record for Ronaldo, with the 41-year-old having now scored in six different World Cups. He notched another before the break, but the star forward is not the only player to receive praise from Gary Neville at half-time.

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Gary Neville praises Portugal full-backs

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The truth is, Portugal are not a one-man team, and it's Roberto Martinez's full-backs who have caught the eye for Neville in the ITV studio.

Neville said: "We talked before the game about the fact that maybe the wide players, like Félix and Neto, weren't best suited to delivering the balls that Cristiano would want.

"Mendes and Cancelo have both delivered in that first part of the game. And yes, the man [Ronaldo] turned up.

"This first one comes from the underlap. Full-backs don't just overlap anymore, they go on the inside. But this time, it's a more simple movement by the full-back. The right-back, Cancelo, just supports from behind. He waits, he lets Neto do his stuff, and then he joins in. He just takes a couple of touches and swings it round. Just classic."

Cancelo's assist got the game going early on, and it was Mendes with the free-kick who doubled Portugal's lead later on, despite Ronaldo looking like he would take the set-piece.

Ronaldo's goals will be crucial to Portugal's hopes of going all the way at the World Cup 2026, but he is clearly going to need those around him to deliver, too.