Cristiano Ronaldo endured a night to forget as Portugal were held to a 1-1 draw by DR Congo in their World Cup opener – a performance that provoked stinging criticism from pundits and left the 41-year-old’s diminishing influence laid bare.
The Portugal captain had just 25 touches across the 90 minutes and managed three shots, all of which were on target, but failed to score as his side laboured against a team ranked 46th in the FIFA world rankings. The result came a day after Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi had all starred for their countries, raising expectations that Ronaldo would respond in kind. Instead, he extended a major tournament drought that now stands at 10 World Cup and European Championship games without a goal, during which he has had 33 shots and only 11 on target.
“Cristiano Ronaldo laboured as Portugal drew 1-1 with DR Congo, sparking criticism over his performance.”
Ex-Premier League striker Chris Sutton, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live, was scathing about Portugal boss Roberto Martinez’s decision to keep Ronaldo on for the full match in Houston. “That’s embarrassing from Martinez,” Sutton said after substitute Gonçalo Ramos replaced midfielder Vitinha in the 83rd minute. “He’s scared to take him off. He’s not the manager. The game has passed him by today.”
Before kick-off, former England captain Wayne Rooney had joked that his ex-Manchester United teammate would be “raging – but in a good way” at the other superstars’ displays, adding: “He wants to be the best… He’ll want to go out there and score two or three tonight to show he’s still at that level.” But Portugal took the lead only through Joao Neves’ sixth-minute header from Pedro Neto’s cross, and DR Congo equalised before half-time when Newcastle’s Yoane Wissa nodded in. For all their 75% possession, Portugal managed only seven attempts at goal, with just one – Neves’ goal – on target.
DR Congo midfielder Ngal Ayel Mukau revealed his side had no specific plan to stop Ronaldo, explaining: “To be honest, not really [a plan] because we know he’s not the same as before, he’s a bit older now. But still he’s one of the greatest to ever play the game so much respect to him. When you get old, it’s not the same efforts you can make.”
France legend Thierry Henry, speaking on FOX Sports, also critiqued the 41-year-old’s movement, saying: “The team needs to score, it’s not you who needs to score… Because he wants to score, he goes in Bruno Fernandes’ path.”
Ronaldo, who has 229 caps and 143 goals for his country, now faces a must-win match against Uzbekistan in their next group game if Portugal are to avoid a path through the tournament as one of the best third-placed teams. Colombia top the group after their 3-1 win over Uzbekistan.