Ronaldo at 41, Portugal in Crisis — The World Cup’s Biggest Selection Question Has No Easy Answer

By Sportsoya | June 18, 2026

Less than 24 hours after Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi all scored in convincing victories, Cristiano Ronaldo played 90 minutes at the World Cup 2026 and created absolutely nothing.

Zero chances created. Three shots, two of which drifted hopelessly wide. Zero defensive interventions. Two progressive passes the second fewest of any Portugal starter on the night.

Portugal, one of the most talented squads at the entire tournament, were held to a 1-1 draw by Congo DR in Houston. And the elephant in the room after the final whistle had a very familiar name.

How It Unfolded

Portugal started the match brilliantly. In the opening six minutes they completed 84 passes to Congo DR’s 12 a statement of intent that suggested a comfortable night was ahead.

João Neves headed Portugal in front and for a brief moment it looked like the Selecção would cruise to a routine opening win. But Congo DR, to their enormous credit, refused to be overwhelmed.

Yoane Wissa equalised from a corner kick before half time and from that moment the game flipped entirely. Congo DR finished the match with more shot attempts than Portugal eight to seven more shots on target, and a higher expected goals figure of 0.82 compared to Portugal’s 0.64.

The team that was supposed to dominate ended up being outplayed for 80 minutes. And through all of it, Ronaldo stayed on the pitch.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

There is no comfortable way to frame what Ronaldo produced against Congo DR at World Cup 2026. The statistics paint a picture that no amount of reputation or legacy can paper over.

Since scoring a penalty against Ghana in Portugal’s opening World Cup match in 2022, Ronaldo has now gone 10 consecutive matches across the World Cup and European Championships without scoring. It has been almost five years since his last open-play goal in a major international competition.

In Portugal’s last four matches in major tournaments, Ronaldo has played 396 of a possible 420 minutes. In that same period Portugal have scored just once.

The contrast is even starker when you look at the broader picture Portugal have averaged 1.9 goals per game when Ronaldo starts and 2.8 when he doesn’t. A team with Bernardo Silva, Vitinha, Pedro Neto and Bruno Fernandes in it scores nearly a full goal more per game without their supposed talisman leading the line.

That is not a coincidence. That is a pattern.

Martinez Has No Plan B

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez was asked repeatedly after the match about Ronaldo’s performance and his role going forward. His answers were revealing not for what he said but for what he refused to acknowledge.

“It makes no sense to get the best goal scorer in world football out in a game that you need goals,” Martinez said.

The problem with that statement is its premise. Ronaldo is not the best goal scorer in world football in 2026. He was, undeniably, for a decade. But those days have passed and a World Cup is not the place for sentiment.

What made the substitution decisions even more puzzling was the order in which they came. Bernardo Silva came off. Pedro Neto came off. Nuno Mendes came off. Vitinha a midfielder was eventually replaced by backup striker Gonçalo Ramos in the 83rd minute. Ronaldo stayed on until the final whistle.

If your team is struggling to create chances and desperately needs a goal, and your backup striker only gets seven minutes against a low defensive block, that is not squad management. That is stubbornness.

Congo DR Deserve More Credit

Before this becomes entirely about Ronaldo it is worth acknowledging what Congo DR produced on Tuesday night in Houston.

Coach Sébastien Desabre set his team up brilliantly a disciplined back five that at times stretched to a back six, suffocating Portugal’s creative players and forcing them into low percentage attempts from wide positions. When Portugal did score early, Congo DR showed the mental strength to reset and come back into the game exactly as they had done against Nigeria during World Cup 2026 qualification when they trailed early before eventually advancing on penalties.

Wissa’s equaliser was deserved and his performance throughout was exactly the kind of display that reminds everyone why the Premier League forward is one of the most underrated strikers in the game. Congo DR have announced themselves at this tournament and should not be underestimated by whoever faces them next.

What Portugal Must Do Now

Portugal have too much talent to be genuinely worried after one draw. The squad depth is extraordinary and Roberto Martinez will know better than anyone that the adjustments needed are not complicated.

But the Ronaldo question will not go away. It will intensify with every match he plays without contributing. The manager has created a situation where dropping the 41-year-old feels politically impossible but keeping him in the starting XI at the expense of younger, more dynamic options is costing Portugal goals and momentum.

As we have seen elsewhere in this World Cup 2026 from Morocco’s teenage midfield masterclass against Brazil to the USMNT’s historic 4-1 demolition of Paraguay this tournament has no time for passengers, regardless of their past greatness.

Ronaldo has five World Cup winners medals worth of desire burning inside him. Nobody doubts that. But desire alone does not create chances, score goals, or win tournaments.

Martinez needs a Plan B. Portugal need to win their next game. And somewhere in the back of everyone’s mind is a question nobody in the Portuguese camp wants to answer out loud.

Is it time?

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