Portugal's World Cup Draw Raises Questions on Ronaldo's Role
Portugal’s World Cup plan hit its first snag under the Houston lights, and inevitably, the conversation swung straight back to one man.
A 1-1 draw with DR Congo is not a disaster on paper, but it felt heavy. Joao Neves’ early strike should have set the tone for a routine opening win in Group K. Instead, Portugal drifted, Yoane Wissa dragged DR Congo level before the break, and the European giants never truly imposed themselves again.
By full-time, the scoreboard said stalemate. The narrative said something louder: what now with Cristiano Ronaldo?
Neves strikes, Wissa answers
Portugal started as if they meant to crush any early nerves. Neves, the latest jewel of their midfield, pushed them in front with an early goal that seemed to settle everything. Roberto Martinez’s side moved the ball with authority, DR Congo sat deep, and the pattern looked familiar: big nation, early lead, control to follow.
Then the grip loosened.
DR Congo grew bolder, their counters sharper, their belief obvious. Wissa’s equaliser before half-time changed the mood inside the stadium. Suddenly, every Portuguese attack carried a hint of anxiety rather than inevitability. The African side earned their point, and they knew it.
Portugal, though, walked off with the look of a team that expected more and got less.
Ronaldo under the glare
When Portugal labour, the lens zooms in on Ronaldo. At 41, in a record-extending sixth World Cup, he still starts, still wears the armband, still commands the spotlight. Against DR Congo, he simply didn’t repay it.
No shot on target. Two clear chances missed. Little influence in open play. For a player built on ruthless efficiency, it was a night that cut against his legend.
The performance reopened a debate that never really goes away. Is Ronaldo still the man to lead this team from the first whistle, or has his role shifted, whether he accepts it or not?
On Sky Sports, former England striker Jay Bothroyd did not tiptoe around the issue.
“Have to be honest, I think if Ronaldo is a team player, I think he should step down and understand that he has to be a player that comes off the bench as an impact player,” he said. Then came the blunt punchline: “Is he ever going to do that? Nope, I don’t think he is. And that’s my point.”
The critique went beyond missed chances. Bothroyd questioned the way Ronaldo still seems locked in a private race with Lionel Messi, long after their careers have taken different paths.
“I look at Ronaldo and… the Ronaldo faithful are going to hate me today, but it looks like it’s all about him, yeah? You know, and he’s always chasing Messi all the time,” he added. “He’s never going to be Messi, but what he has throughout his career, he’s made the absolute most out of his career… But right now he’s becoming more of a hindrance for Portugal than help, and I think that’s where Martinez is going wrong.”
It was the kind of assessment that splits dressing rooms and fanbases, but not one that can be easily dismissed after a night like this.
Martinez doubles down
Inside the Portugal camp, there is no sign of a rethink. Martinez has nailed his colours to the Ronaldo mast and did so again in Houston.
“It makes no sense to get the best goalscorer in world football out in a game that you need goals,” he told reporters. To him, Ronaldo’s value lies not only in his finishing, but in the gravity he exerts on a defence.
“For us in moments like this, the experience of Cristiano in the box is important. The way that he attracts defenders is important, the way that we can use the space is important. And every player has a responsibility or a piece of quality on the pitch. And clearly when you look for goals, you need to have Cristiano.”
That is the manager’s line, and it is unwavering. Ronaldo stays on because, in Martinez’s eyes, Ronaldo still changes games simply by being there.
The counter-argument is clear: if the team’s structure bends to one player, and that player no longer delivers at the rate he once did, how long can that trade-off be justified?
Pressure building in Group K
The draw leaves Portugal under pressure far earlier than they anticipated. Group K will not be decided by one slip, but with tougher fixtures ahead, dropped points against DR Congo come at a cost.
This is not a young side learning on the job. It is a squad stacked with talent, depth, and expectation. Neves, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Rafael Leao – these are players at or near their peak. They need a framework that maximises them, not one that revolves around a fading version of the past.
That is the crux of the Ronaldo question now. It is no longer about his legacy, which is untouchable, or his numbers, which belong in another stratosphere. It is about the present tense. About whether Portugal in 2026 are better served by his aura from the start, or his presence from the bench.
Martinez has made his choice for now. He trusts the experience, the movement, the threat that may still flicker into life in a single moment.
The risk is obvious: if those moments don’t come, and the points keep slipping away, how long before Portugal’s World Cup turns into a referendum on one man instead of a campaign built around a team?
