On Tuesday, June 23, 2026, Portugal got its revenge in style, following all the criticism that had arisen at home and beyond after the 1-1 draw on the opening matchday of the World Cup against Congo.
The Portuguese side demolished Fabio Cannavaro’s Uzbekistan with a clear 5-0 win.
Roberto Martínez’s team was led above all by Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored twice and finally joined the World Cup celebrations after Messi, Mbappé and Haaland had put him under pressure.
All the stars are scoring in this World Cup competition, and this gives fans the opportunity to visit 1xbet دانلود for a chance to secure some interesting prizes to win while taking advantage of the red hot form some strikers are having, and perhaps Rafael Leão can be part of this conversation.
Rafael Leão's rating after his World Cup goal with Portugal:
In the closing stages there was also glory for the Portuguese winger. The AC Milan star came on for the final nine minutes plus stoppage time and almost immediately scored the goal for 5-0. A fine right-footed strike into the top corner, which marks his first goal in any competition since 1 March (an away league match against Cremonese), his third World Cup goal after the two scored in 2022, and a 6.5 rating in this morning’s Gazzetta dello Sport. This was the newspaper’s assessment, brief but incisive: “He comes on, scores and joins the celebrations.”
For fans in Persia, ratings like this could perhaps be an encouraging sign to try their luck thanks to 1xbet فارسی and see if the ex Lille player will continue to score goals at the highest stage.
Here is Rafael Leão again, back surfing the waves of the World Cup in the United States. It was not a decisive goal, merely the icing on the cake of Portugal’s 5-0 win over Uzbekistan, but given his form in the second half of the season, his return to scoring still carries weight. Across all competitions, the Milan number 10 had not scored for 114 days: it was 1 March when Rafa sealed the away match in Cremona from a Nkunku assist. From that moment came the downturn for Leão and for Milan as a whole.
Leão scores his third World Cup goal:
This is not a first for the ex Sporting CP talent: the Portuguese had already scored twice at the previous World Cup in Qatar. This is his third World Cup goal. His first came in the 2-3 win against Ghana, his debut in the group stage of the last tournament and his absolute first appearance; his second came to complete the 6-1 win with which Portugal eliminated Switzerland in the round of 16. Against Uzbekistan, came goal number three, and who knows whether more will follow in the coming days: opportunities will certainly not be lacking.
The future of Rafael Leão remains uncertain. In the weeks between the disappointing end of the season and the start of the World Cup with Portugal, the player spoke on more than one occasion about wanting a change from Milan after seven seasons in which he felt he had given everything possible. At the end of the match against Uzbekistan in which he also scored, however, Leão cast doubt again on what his career will be, postponing everything until after the World Cup.
Is Leão open to staying with AC Milan?
And it is precisely on the basis of these words that Tuttosport recently ran the following headline: "And Leão reopens to Milan! A glimmer after his first World Cup goal.” For Rafael, this is his third World Cup goal, after the two scored against Ghana and Switzerland four years ago. After the match he spoke to DAZN about his future at Milan: “At this moment I need to stay focused on the World Cup. What I know about Amorim is that he is very good, he did well in Portugal, at Manchester United it did not go as he wanted but he remains a great coach. I will decide my life after the World Cup.”
Diego López, sporting director of Genoa with a past as a scout at Lille, speaks about Rafa. The Grifone executive, at the time, was part of Luis Campos’s team that brought Leão to Lille from Sporting. These were his words about the Milan forward on 'Calciomercato - L’Originale':
"Rafa is pure talent, and perhaps that has been his limit. He has become too self-absorbed in his talent. To me he is world-class, international. He was very impressive in the year Milan won the league, perhaps he lost a bit of motivation, I don’t know what happened. Even at Lille he started well, but we did not have time to enjoy him because he was then sold. That is his personality; he needs to be kept highly motivated, he needs to feel very important. The switch to Milan and playing wide on the left helped him. I have read his statements like you have, but I know no more than you do."
What did Rafael Leão say after his goal in the World Cup match against Uzbekistan?
"My future with Milan and Amorim’s arrival? At this moment I need to stay focused on the World Cup. What I know about this coach is that he is very good, he did well in Portugal, at United it did not go as he wanted but he remains a great coach. I will decide my life after the World Cup," he told DAZN. "My goal? I need to celebrate with my family because this season has been difficult for me. Injuries and many things in between. Also the season with Milan. I need to thank my family who have supported me until now. This match, this goal is for them."
