I Doubted Cristiano Ronaldo - and He Shut Me Up at the World Cup

It’s been an unforgettable World Cup tournament already in North America, and Tuesday only added more layers to the developing story that is being told.

Who were the winners and losers on Day 13?

I can confirm for the first time I’m a recipient of one of the awards, and it’s not the side I wanted to be on.

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Winner: Cristiano Ronaldo

After so much trash talk and doubt following his ghostly performance in the opener against DR Congo, the living legend decided to put on a vintage performance in a 5-0 win over Uzbekistan.

Loser: Me, Your Humble Pundit

Hand up, I doubted Ronaldo.

I thought he would have a better game against Uzbekistan, but I didn’t see two goals coming from him. It wasn’t only the goals, either. The 41-year-old was spry around the penalty area, a constant threat, and was continually hunting a hat trick even in the dying seconds.

While I want to see how he does against Colombia and the rest of the competition in the knockouts, he beat me up this round and I’m on the ground asking for help from my corner.

Winner: Social Media

Could you have asked for a better start to a tournament for social media? Small nations are surprising, the stars are delivering, and we’re only a few days away from 16 do-or-die knockout matches in the Round of 32.

Loser: People Who Hate Math

Usually at this point, the third match day of the group stage meant pretty straightforward stakes. Top two teams advanced, and you knew which teams would play each other in the Round of 16. Now, though, with the Round of 32 having 24 top-placed teams and the eight best-performing third place teams making it to the next round, it is now chaos going into Wednesday.

There are over 400 different scenarios that can happen in terms of combinations going into the next round, and we probably won’t know much until mathematicians let us know at the end of each night.

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This story was originally published June 23, 2026 at 10:53 PM.