Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal returned to Houston on Tuesday, June 23, for their second 2026 World Cup group stage match against Uzbekistan after an opening 1-1 draw with Congo that brought a wave of criticism aimed largely at the 41-year-old captain.
Following Portugal's shocking World Cup debut result against Congo, disappointment cut through the squad's tournament bubble. Before the Uzbekistan fixture, Portugal's players had spent six days sitting with those feelings.
Portugal players and staff respond
Portugal defender João Cancelo addressed the mood on Monday, June 22.
We know we failed. We were quite sad after the match because everybody was disappointed with the match that we played, and rightly so, because we were actually the favorites and we wanted to start out doing well in this World Cup, with the right foot, so to speak.
Most of the criticism landed on Ronaldo, whose impact in the Congo game barely registered. Portugal coach Roberto Martínez said the veteran captain responded the way a leader with deep international experience would.
He's a captain so he reacts as a captain, meaning with a lot of experience. It is the sixth time he plays a World Cup and he is a player who's been defending and playing for his country for a long time, so he really wants to keep on improving, to keep contributing. And he's really a role model for our team.
Ronaldo's numbers against Congo
Ronaldo remains one of the most decorated players in soccer history, but at 41 and in his sixth World Cup, questions about what he still offers on the pitch have followed Portugal into the tournament.
In the draw with Congo, Ronaldo was at best ineffective and at worst invisible. He played 90 minutes, took three shots with none on target, won one duel, and had 25 touches. That touch count was the second-fewest he has ever had in a World Cup start.
After the match, Martínez tied Ronaldo's limited involvement to Portugal's overall attacking play.
We didn't really make it to the final third on the level required to really help that leading attacker and to utilize those movements on the pitch.
Martínez also said he did not consider substituting Ronaldo in the second half.
I think obviously in a game like today that we were finding it difficult to get into the box. Congo had a back five that at times was even a back six; they accumulated a lot of players, you can use the qualities of Cristiano Ronaldo. It makes no sense to get the best goalscorer in world football out in a game where you need goals.
Recent major-tournament scoring drought
Ronaldo has not lived up to that goalscoring billing across several years of major tournaments. He scored eight times during Portugal's 2025 Nations League title run, but he has failed to score in his last 10 World Cup or European Championship games.
His last national-team goal in a major tournament came in Portugal's opening match of the 2022 World Cup, when he converted a penalty in a 3-2 win over Ghana.
On Monday, Martínez said Portugal's style depends on overwhelming opponents in the final third and insisted Ronaldo still helps create those chances.
Cristiano is the best one to do that. The numbers support this of this iconic player that is Cristiano Ronaldo. If you look at the last 32 games, he is the player that has extra movement, opening spaces and finding pockets.
World Cup spotlight and veteran stars
Ronaldo's start to the 2026 World Cup stands in contrast to Lionel Messi, who scored all five of Argentina's goals across its first two World Cup matches. Brazil's Neymar missed Brazil's first two World Cup matches due to injury and has faced criticism alongside Ronaldo. Asked about both players, Cancelo pushed back on the idea that either veteran still has something to prove.
I think that both Neymar and Cristiano do not need to prove anything to anyone. They're so talented, both players, and what they do in football speaks for itself. And I think that both Neymar and Cristiano know what they are and what they represent to their countries, and I think there's not much more to say regarding that.
Portugal's next step in Houston against Uzbekistan on June 23 arrives with the squad still carrying the weight of the Congo result and the public scrutiny directed at its captain.
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