Portugal’s World Cup got off to a disappointing start, and plenty of fingers were pointed at Cristiano Ronaldo afterwards.
The 41-year-old striker, who became the oldest outfield player to start a World Cup match, played all 90 minutes as his side surprisingly settled for a 1-1 draw with DR Congo.
Ronaldo failed to get any of his three shots on target, but fellow legend Thierry Henry honed in one sequence where the Portuguese star — in the Fox Sports analyst’s opinion — failed to make the right run.
The moment in question happened in the second half with Portugal searching for a winning goal, as Francisco Conceição drove with the ball down the right wing.
Both Ronaldo and teammate Bruno Fernandes were awaiting a pass in the box, but instead of darting to the back post to open up space for Fernandes, Ronaldo ended up in Fernandes’ path.
“The team needs to score, not you need to score,” Henry said on Fox, as he criticized Ronaldo’s movement in the clip.
“Cristiano Ronaldo has been in this situation multiple times,” he continued. “If you make that run here, you make the defender take a decision to go to the six-yard box.”
Ultimately, Ronaldo sent his shot wide, and Fernandes, the Manchester United midfielder, looked frustrated afterwards.
No men’s player has more than Ronaldo’s 143 goals at the international level, but his selection is yet again proving to be a dilemma for Portugal manager Roberto Martinez.
With a glittering array of midfielders like Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Vitinha, many feel that Martinez is wasting a generational Portugal squad by continuing to trot out Ronaldo.
He failed to score in five starts during the 2024 Euros, and he scored one goal in five appearances (three starts) in the 2022 World Cup.
Ronaldo’s blank against DR Congo has also been magnified by Lionel Messi’s strong start for Argentina, as he notched a hat-trick in a 3-0 win against Algeria.
Portugal’s next game is against Uzbekistan next Tuesday, and it’ll become clear soon if Ronaldo remains a starter for that contest.