NEW YORK, June 19 — As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, and judging by Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance in Portugal’s 1-1 draw with DR Congo on Wednesday, the curtain could be coming down on one of football’s greatest careers.
Ronaldo set another record by becoming the oldest outfield player to start a World Cup match at 41 years, 132 days. If he scores during this tournament, he would become the second-oldest player to score at a World Cup, behind Cameroon forward Roger Milla. However, his display against DR Congo raised questions over whether that goal will arrive and whether he should remain in the starting lineup of a Portugal side considered one of the tournament favorites. Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes but had little impact. He touched the ball just 25 times, failed to register a shot on target, created no chances for teammates and did not complete a single successful dribble. He completed 19 of his 21 passes. The performance extended Ronaldo’s goal drought in World Cup and European Championship matches to 10 games and 801 minutes. Britain’s Independent newspaper summed up the display with the headline “10 men and a statue,” with little doubt over who the statue referred to.
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez defended his captain after the match. “We didn’t get to the final third at the level we needed to give service to the striker or to use his movements,” Martinez said. Pundits, however, were less forgiving. Former France forward Thierry Henry criticized Ronaldo after he failed to capitalize on an opportunity in the second half when Bruno Fernandes was better positioned. “It’s the team that needs to score, not you,” Henry said. “Because he wants to score, he goes into the path of the pass.” Former striker Chris Sutton said Martinez should have been braver and substituted Ronaldo. “He’s scared to take him off. Ronaldo may end up scoring the winner, but the game passed him by today,” Sutton said.
Ronaldo’s former Manchester United teammate Louis Saha argued that Portugal must prioritize the team over its star player. “Cristiano is always going to be in competition with Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi. He wants to play every minute to break records. That’s his mentality, and we understand that,” Saha said. “But I think he also understands that Portugal needs a high tempo. They want to press and have energy levels at the very top, and that will involve making changes.”
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