4 min readUpdated: Jun 18, 2026 09:29 AM IST
Thierry Henry was precise. Analysing Portugal’s performance on FOX, the former Arsenal striker and 1998 World Cup winner with France broke down a second-half passage of play involving Francisco Conceição and Bruno Fernandes to explain what Ronaldo is doing wrong.
“One thing that’s important — the team needs to score, it’s not you who needs to score,” Henry said. “Look here. Portugal has the ball, Conceição is going to receive the ball. If Ronaldo makes that run in the opposite direction of the ball, he forces the defender to make a decision. But because he wants to score, he goes in Bruno Fernandes’ path. If he went to that small area, the defender would have to follow him, and then it would be an easy tap-in for Bruno Fernandes. But because he wants to score, he crosses the path of the back pass — you see the two players and it becomes easier for the defence to intercept. The team needs to score, not you. Did you see Bruno Fernandes’ reaction? ‘Let the ball roll, make the run, create space so I can just tap it in.’ It didn’t happen.”
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Kevin-Prince Boateng, speaking on SBS Sport, went further. “Can I be honest? Ronaldo, if he would be a real team player, he would step down and let the young players flow. 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. I get that, I understand that. 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 to 20 minutes.”
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
Wayne Rooney, working as a BBC pundit, offered a partial defence. “Cristiano Ronaldo is very often standing in an offside position, but that’s not him being lazy, he is actually being very clever. It means that Congo constantly has to search for him. And when they search for him, he automatically creates space for his teammates.” After the match, however, Rooney also said DR Congo had “wanted it more” than Portugal.
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The numbers told their own story. Ronaldo was held scoreless for the fifth straight World Cup match and the tenth consecutive game in major competitions, including World Cups and European Championships. He has not scored a non-penalty goal in a major competition since June 19, 2021. Despite playing nearly every minute, Portugal have scored just one goal in their past four matches in major competitions. On Wednesday he generated three shot attempts and put none on target — the sixth time he has finished without a shot on target at a World Cup, according to ESPN.
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez was unmoved. “The World Cup is a tournament where these things happen. Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia in 2022 and then went on to win the World Cup. In 2010, Spain lost to Switzerland and then won the World Cup. What we’re talking about here is the first match of a World Cup,” he told reporters in Houston. On the question of substituting Ronaldo earlier, Martinez said there was “no sense” in doing so.
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