At the FIFA World Cup 2026 match between Portugal and Uzbekistan, two Uzbek players—Rustamjon Ashurmatov and Dostonbek Khamdamov—face Cristiano Ronaldo again years after first meeting him as teenagers. The story, shared in viral accounts of the earlier encounter, dates to 2009, when the two were reportedly in Uzbekistan and Ronaldo met them during that period. Seventeen years later, the same two players are described as taking part in Portugal vs Uzbekistan at the World Cup, where Ronaldo and the Uzbek stars come up against each other on the pitch. Multiple versions of the account focus on the long gap between the initial meeting and the later face-off, framing it as a reunion through sport rather than a competitive rivalry between individuals. The reports emphasize that Ashurmatov and Khamdamov are Uzbekistan stars and that their match-up with Ronaldo occurs during the Portugal–Uzbekistan fixture at the 2026 tournament. The sources do not provide additional details beyond the meeting timeline and the fact of the on-field clash.