New Delhi: At 41 years and 132 days old, Cristiano Ronaldo appeared at the Houston Stadium Wednesday to lay down a marker at his sixth World Cup. However, Ronaldo’s 90-minute performance was labelled as ‘selfish’ by French legend Thierry Henry, as Portugal’s opening game against DR Congo ended in a 1-1 draw.
Of his few half-chances at goal, Ronaldo was criticised by Henry for focusing on scoring a goal himself rather than allowing his teammate Bruno Fernandes an easier chance at goal. The Portuguese team comes to the 2026 World Cup with one of the most technically proficient midfields in the world and is considered one of the favourites for the tournament.
“One thing that is important is that the team needs to score, not that you need to score…Because he wants to score, he goes into the path of Bruno Fernandes…into the path of the back pass, you see both players, and it’s easier to defend. That’s my thing, the team needs to score, not you,” Henry explained while analysing the game on Fox Sports.
With this, Ronaldo has now gone 10 consecutive games at major tournaments — the FIFA World Cup and Euros — without scoring for Portugal. His last goal at a major tournament was a penalty against Ghana on the first match day of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The Mbappe-Haaland-Messi pressure
France’s Kylian Mbappe and Norway’s Erling Haaland both scored braces for their national team a day earlier. Meanwhile, football legend Lionel Messi scored a hattrick against Algeria, as Argentina laid down the gauntlet for the defence of its title in North America. The brilliant performances by the three players Tuesday ensured Ronaldo’s opening game at this edition of the World Cup will come under greater scrutiny.
However, the Portuguese captain disappeared for almost the entirety of the game, making 25 touches across the 90 minutes – the fewest by Portugal’s outfield players who played the entire game – with three shots, none on target and zero defensive recoveries.
Despite four substitutions during the game by manager Roberto Martinez, Ronaldo remained on the pitch, as Portugal sought a winner. The European team had a great start to their campaign when Joao Neves — not one of the tallest players on the field — emphatically headed home Portugal’s opener after Pedro Neto sent over a teasing cross into the box.
Newcastle United’s Yoane Wissa headed home the equaliser at the end of the first half, left entirely unmarked in the Portuguese box.
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The Ronaldo problem
According to Opta analyst, Portugal completed 724 passes during the game — their highest ever in a World Cup game. However, despite controlling the ball, Portuguese coach Roberto Martinez’s team failed to find the incisive pass to score a second goal. The Ronaldo problem remains for the head coach.
Despite maintaining around 75 per cent possession throughout the game, Ronaldo and Portugal were allowed just six attempts. Meanwhile, DR Congo made eight attempts.
Portugal has averaged roughly 1.9 goals per game in the last two years when Ronaldo was a starter. When he did not start, the average goals per game by Portugal climbed up to 2.8, partly due to the 9-1 win over Armenia last year.
The question for Martinez remains whether he has another plan for the rest of the tournament if Ronaldo’s woes in front of goal remain. For DR Congo, this is their first-ever point at a World Cup.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)