Portugal’s World Cup campaign began not with a statement of intent but with a flat, unsettling draw against the Democratic Republic of Congo in Houston. The 1-1 result immediately ignited a storm around Cristiano Ronaldo, who played the full 90 minutes yet managed only 25 touches, no shots on target, and a tenth consecutive major tournament appearance without a goal. In Lisbon, the verdict was swift and brutal. The sports daily A Bola declared that “pressure seems to have weighed heavily” on the captain, while Record ran the headline “It doesn’t work like this” and Público warned that Portugal “remains a hostage to its faith in Ronaldo, but faith alone is not enough.” Coach Roberto Martínez defended his decision to keep the forward on the pitch, arguing it made “no sense to take off the best goal-scorer in the world when you need goals,” but that logic was met with scepticism from pundits in London, where former striker Chris Sutton accused the Spaniard of being “scared to take him off.”

From the US broadcast booth, the most stinging critique came from Thierry Henry. The former France striker, now a Fox Sports analyst, accused Ronaldo of selfishness, zeroing in on a moment when the Portuguese captain intercepted a cut-back destined for a better-placed Bruno Fernandes. “The team needs to score, not you need to score,” Henry said, adding that Ronaldo’s movement as a number nine was failing to give Portugal the solutions it required. The observation resonated across continents: in Indonesia, outlets amplified Henry’s “selfish” label, while in Argentina and Mexico, commentators framed it as evidence of a star prioritising personal milestones over collective success. The criticism was not confined to the studio. Congolese midfielder Ngal’ayel Mukau told reporters that his side had not prepared a specific plan to contain Ronaldo because “we know he’s no longer the same player as before, he’s older now,” a remark that, while wrapped in respect, landed like a jab in European and Asian headlines.

Not everyone joined the pile-on. In Spain, journalist Edu Aguirre, a known confidant of Ronaldo, used his platform on El Chiringuito to redirect blame toward Portugal’s midfield, arguing that stars like Vitinha, Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes “came out to watch the game go by” and lacked the “rage” to impose themselves. Ronaldo’s sister, Katia Aveiro, also entered the fray on Instagram, lamenting that the team had “suddenly forgotten how to pass, how to cut out attacks” and later liking a post that unfavourably compared Fernandes’s club form with his national-team displays. These interventions, viewed from Madrid and Rio de Janeiro, painted a picture of a camp where frustration is beginning to spill into public view.

The broader context sharpens the scrutiny. A day earlier, Lionel Messi had scored a hat-trick for defending champions Argentina, while Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland each netted doubles. Ronaldo’s blank extended a drought that now spans 33 shots and 11 on-target efforts without a goal at World Cups and European Championships since Qatar 2022, a tournament in which he was famously dropped by then-coach Fernando Santos. Martínez, who inherited a golden generation of Belgian talent and failed to deliver a trophy, now faces a comparable test of his authority. Analysts in São Paulo noted that Portugal have alternatives in Gonçalo Ramos and Gonçalo Guedes, yet the political weight of benching a living icon remains immense.

Portugal’s next fixture, against World Cup debutants Uzbekistan, has already assumed decisive proportions. A second stumble would leave the Group K favourites in serious peril, with Colombia already top after beating the Uzbeks. Ronaldo himself posted on social media that “this is far from over,” but the question hanging over the Seleção is whether Martínez can recalibrate a side that, for all its midfield talent, looked tactically disjointed and emotionally tethered to an ageing talisman. The answer will shape not only Portugal’s tournament but the final chapter of one of football’s most storied international careers.