The FIFA World Cup saw another record-breaking day as this time Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up and made it his own. His brace saw Portugal hammer Uzbekistan 5-0 as they got their first win of this edition under their belt.
England then played out a goalless draw against Ghana, with Thomas Tuchel’s side picking up some unwanted records along the way. Croatia and Colombia completed the matchday with contrasting 1-0 wins over Panama and Congo DR respectively.
ESPN’s By The Numbers brings you best stats from the World Cup action on June 23:
Portugal 5 – 0 Uzbekistan
1
The big one for the day: Cristiano Ronaldo is the first player to score at 6 different World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026).
In case you were wondering Lionel Messi has also played at six World Cups (only other man to do so), but he failed to score for the Diego Maradona coached Argentina side in the 2010 edition.
1
Ronaldo also became the oldest player with a multi-goal game at the World Cup (41y, 138d). This breaks the record set by Lionel Messi this tournament
2
Ronaldo is the second oldest player to score at the World Cup after Cameroon’s Roger Milla (42y, 39d in 1994)
2
Nuno Mendes is the second Portuguese player to score a direct free kick at the World Cup after… Cristiano Ronaldo vs Spain in 2018
3
There are three players who hold the unique distinction of being both the youngest and oldest scorer for their country at the men’s FIFA World Cup: Michael Laudrup (Denmark) Lionel Messi (Argentina) and now Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
24
Against Uzbekistan, Ronaldo played his 24th World Cup match for Portugal. Only Lionel Messi (28) and Lothar Matthäus (25) have made more World Cup appearances
49
Uzbekistan is the 49th nation Ronaldo has scored against. He’s now hit an incredible 145 goals in 230 appearances.
10
Ronaldo went past Eusebio (9) as Portugal’s top-scorer at the FIFA World Cup.
22y 183d
The gap of 22 years and 183 days between Uzbekistan’s Bekhruz Karimov (18y 320d) and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (41y 138d), became the biggest gap between two starting players in a match in FIFA World Cup history
England 0 – 0 Ghana
12
England saw their 12-game competitive winning streak come to an end – the first time they failed to win a competitive match since Oct. 2024 vs Greece.
2
Ghana avoided defeat in their opening two games at a FIFA World Cup for the second time since 2010 – when they reached the Quarterfinals.
79%
England had 79% possession against Ghana, the highest by any team that failed to score in a match in the last 60 years at the FIFA World Cup.
2
Ghana’s 2 shots are the joint-lowest of any team in a game at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the fewest England conceded in a game in the last 60 years at the FIFA World Cup.
13
This was England’s thirteenth scoreless draw at the FIFA World Cup, no other team has more than 9 in history (Brazil).
9
England extended their unbeaten streak vs African teams at the FIFA World Cup to 9 games.
50
Jude Bellingham made his 50th appearance for England; at 22 years and 359 day, he became the youngest Englishmen to reach this milestone for the national team.
93 and 430
England completed 93% of their passes – their joint-most in a World Cup match (since 1966), and also completed 430 passes in their opponents half – their most in a World Cup match (since 1966).
125
Marc Guéhi completed 125 passes today – the most by an England player on record (since 1966) in a FIFA World Cup game.
Panama 0 – 1 Croatia
200
Luka Modric made his 200th appearance for Croatia – becoming the fourth man to do so in international football, after Cristiano Ronaldo (230), Bader Ahmed Al-Mutawa (202) and Lionel Messi (201).
10
Players 40 years old or older have made 10 appearances at this year’s FIFA World Cup, more games than in any other prior edition.
5
Panama have now lost all five of their five World Cup games (scoring 2 goals). Only El Salvador has a worse 100% losing record in the competition’s history (6 games, 6 losses). This is made worse by another stat: both games by Panama so far in this World Cup are tied for fewest shots (3) and lowest expected goals (0.11) in a first half.
21.4%
30 of the 140 goals at the 2026 World Cup (including own goals) so far have been scored by substitutes. This 21.4% of goals scored by subs is the highest such percentage in FIFA World Cup history (previous high was 18.7% in 2014)
*Note: Substitutions were first allowed at the 1970 FIFA World Cup
0-5-12
CONCACAF teams are now 0W, 5D, 12L in the last 17 matches against UEFA opponents at the World Cup. The last win was Mexico in 2018 (1-0 vs Germany). The last CONCACAF team to defeat an UEFA opposition after conceding first in a World Cup match remains Costa Rica against Sweden in 1990.
88%
Modric recorded an 88% passing accuracy against Panama (69/78). He has completed at least 80% of his passes in all 19 of his career FIFA World Cup starts
34y 336d
At 34 years and 336 days old, Ante Budimir is the oldest player to score for Croatia at the World Cup.
Colombia 1 – 0 Congo DR
3
Colombia have advanced to the Round of 32 with this win. They advance to the knockout stages for a third straight World Cup (also 2014 and 2018, they missed out entirely on 2022).
3
Daniel Muñoz is the third Colombian man to score in team’s first two games at a FIFA World Cup after 1994 Adolfo Valencia and 2014 James Rodríguez. He also joins Yerry Mina as the only Colombian defenders with multiple goals at the World Cup (Mina scored 3 in 2018).
5
Luis Díaz is the first player to be caught offside 5 times in a World Cup match since Robin van Persie (6) in 2014 vs Costa Rica
5
James Rodríguez is the first player to create five chances for Colombia in a World Cup match since Carlos Valderrama against England in 1998.
5
A niche one here: Congo DR goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi became the first player to make five saves within the opening 20 minutes of a World Cup match since Jamaica’s Warren Barrett against Argentina in 1998.
