Portugal’s opening match at a World Cup tends to draw scrutiny regardless of the result, but a 1-1 draw against a Democratic Republic of Congo side appearing at the tournament for the first time in 52 years turned the spotlight squarely onto Cristiano Ronaldo
The numbers told their own story. Ronaldo played all 90 minutes despite generating just three shot attempts and putting none on goal. CR7 was held scoreless for the fifth straight World Cup match and the tenth consecutive game in major competitions, having not scored a non-penalty goal in a major tournament since June 2021.
Henry: “The team needs to score, not you”
The sharpest tactical criticism came from Thierry Henry on FOX’s World Cup coverage. Reviewing a sequence in which Francisco Conceição chose to pass to Ronaldo instead of an unmarked Bruno Fernandes, Henry broke down what he saw as a pattern:
Really good analysis from Henry. This is the Ronaldo issue right now.
He’s playing as a 9, but he’s never been a 9 and he’s not acting as a 9. Not giving Portugal those traits and it hurt them today. pic.twitter.com/yjSaOK2J5J
— Marc Geschwind (@MarcGeschwind) June 17, 2026
“The team needs to score, not you,” Henry said.
The ex-Arsenal player explained that had Ronaldo made a run toward goal instead of drifting into Bruno Fernandes’s passing lane, he would have forced the Congolese defender into an impossible choice, opening an easy chance for his teammate.
Read more about this topic: World Cup: Cristiano misses target twice and Portugal draws Congo (with video)
“But because he wants to score, he moves into the path of the backward pass, making it easier for the defense to cut the play off”. The former French World Champion noted Fernandes’ visible frustration in the moment, reading his body language as: let the ball through, make the run, create the space for me to shoot. It didn’t happen.
Ibrahimovic: “You made the wrong choice”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, working the same broadcast, was equally direct, framing the issue as a basic failure of striker’s positioning. “Normally, as a striker, you go from first post to second post to bring the defender with you to open the space for the guy behind,” Ibrahimovic said, as quoted by FOX Sports.
“So, obviously you made the wrong choice here, Cristiano.”
The critique echoed Henry’s: not that Ronaldo lacked effort or quality, but that his movement was organized around creating chances for himself rather than for the players around him.
Former Ghana international Kevin-Prince Boateng went further on SBS Sport, arguing Portugal would be a better team without Ronaldo in the starting eleven at all.
“Because Portugal is a better side without him. There’s so much pressure when he’s in the middle, because they all want to play the ball to him,” Boateng said, while stressing his admiration for Ronaldo’s career. “But if Portugal wants to have a chance to go far, I believe Ronaldo should step down. Let the others play and come in for the last 15-20 minutes.”
Rooney’s defense, and the case against the midfield
Not everyone read the same passages of play as evidence against Ronaldo. On the BBC broadcast, Wayne Rooney pointed to the forward’s positioning in the first half as deliberate and effective, arguing it had directly created Portugal’s opening goal.
“Look at Cristiano Ronaldo’s positioning in the first half, it’s so clever!” Rooney said. “He has been making the Congo defenders look for him. They are worried about Ronaldo, and then João Neves can score.”
Rooney framed Ronaldo’s reluctance to drop deep and dribble as a calculated trade-off rather than a flaw: “He knows where he can be effective. He’s not going to be effective now coming deep and getting the ball and trying to dribble past players. Getting in between the goal is where he will be effective and he’s having more chances from doing that. That’s a skill in itself.”
❗
Wayne Rooney talks about why Cristiano Ronaldo stays in the offside position and how it resulted into Portugal’s 1st goal. 👏
— The CR7 Timeline. (@TimelineCR7) June 18, 2026
Social media reaction split along similar lines, with a significant portion of fans directing blame not at Ronaldo but at Portugal’s midfield supply and Roberto Martínez’s tactical approach after the early lead.
Several widely shared posts argued that Bruno Fernandes and the midfield failed to control tempo once Portugal went ahead, allowing Congo DR to settle into the game; others pointed to the lack of width and movement in front of Ronaldo as the real source of his isolation, rather than any selfishness on his part.
So called best midfielders can’t even create a SINGLE FCKING CHANCE pic.twitter.com/h7Lvz6Rcdg
— Dr Yash (@YashRMFC) June 17, 2026
Vou dormir aterrorizado com esta imagem na cabeça.
É incrível como andamos a pagar milhões a um gajo que joga de vez em quando e, perante o melhor meio campo do mundo, faz isto.
É inenarrável. pic.twitter.com/DKsJnwltQF
— Politicamente Insensível (@Simao_Jorgensen) June 18, 2026
Cristiano tira o zagueiro da posição, circula a bola, mas o “Melhor Meio-Campista da Inglaterra” eleito o melhor jogador da liga pela PFA opta por recuar a bola em vez de tentar conduzi-la ou progredir , tudo para proteger suas estatísticas de precisão de passe e inflar seu ego. pic.twitter.com/J4RII58U3h
— ℕ𝕆𝕊𝕋𝔸𝕃𝔾𝕀𝔸 ℂℝ𝟟𓃵😂😂😂😂🐐 (@GoatWordCR7) June 18, 2026
I think they purposefully choose NOT to pass to Ronaldo. It’s getting more obvious each game. https://t.co/y2CoBSJnem pic.twitter.com/oXGgmqzdBA
— Kylian’s Kompany (@someballfacts) June 18, 2026
