Ronaldo fails to match rivals as Portugal held by DR Congo

Three of football's biggest superstars lit up the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday, but Cristiano Ronaldo was unable to follow suit as Portugal laboured to a 1-1 draw against DR Congo in their opening group match.

Kylian Mbappe scored twice against Senegal to become France's all-time leading scorer. Norway's Erling Haaland marked his World Cup debut with two goals in a victory over Iraq. Lionel Messi went one better, netting a hat-trick for Argentina against Algeria to move level with Germany's Miroslav Klose as the joint-leading goalscorer in World Cup finals history.

On Wednesday, the stage was set for Ronaldo to make his own mark by becoming the first man to score in six different World Cups. However, the Portugal captain struggled to make an impact, managing only 25 touches—the fewest of any Portugal outfield player who played the full match.

Ronaldo's performance under scrutiny

Ex-Premier League striker Chris Sutton, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live, was critical of manager Roberto Martinez's decision to leave the 41-year-old on the field for the entire match in Houston. As striker Goncalo Ramos replaced midfielder Vitinha in the 83rd minute, Sutton said: "That's embarrassing from Martinez. It might work but are we all watching a different game? He's scared to take him off. He's not the manager. [Ronaldo] may end up scoring the winner but the game has passed him by today."

Before kick-off, former England captain Wayne Rooney joked that his former Manchester United teammate would be "raging—but in a good way" that the other stars had begun the tournament so well. "That's how he's pushed himself and his mentality is that everything is a challenge for him," Rooney told BBC One. "Over the years, him and Messi have pushed each other to get to these levels. He wants to be the best and that's not in a bad way. He'll want to go out there and score two or three tonight to show he's still at that level."

Match summary

Portugal took a sixth-minute lead when Pedro Neto's left-wing cross was superbly headed in by Paris St-Germain's Joao Neves. However, Newcastle forward Yoane Wissa nodded in a deserved equalizer for DR Congo just before half-time. Despite dominating possession with 75%, Portugal managed only seven attempts at goal, with just one—the goal scored by Neves—on target.

Ronaldo, who is closing in on 1,000 career goals for club and country, had two chances in quick succession midway through the second half. Half-time substitute Francisco Conceicao twice cut the ball back to him from the right. The first was played slightly behind Ronaldo, who sent a tame effort past the near post. For the second opportunity, the ball was in a better position, but Ronaldo was put under pressure by the DR Congo defence and his finish flew wide.

Ronaldo has now gone 10 consecutive games at major tournaments without finding the net.

Pundits analyze Ronaldo's decision-making

Rooney and fellow BBC pundits Gael Clichy and Olivier Giroud all thought Conceicao was in a better position to shoot rather than set up Ronaldo for his first chance. Meanwhile, former France international Thierry Henry said on Fox Sports that Ronaldo's run blocked a potential pass to Bruno Fernandes, who was in space near the penalty spot. "If he goes into the six-yard box, the defender would have had to follow him and it would have been a tap-in for Fernandes," said Henry. "Because he wants to score, he goes into the path of the pass. That's my thing—the team needs to score, not you."

"His stats will never be the best," Rooney said at full-time. "What he needs is chances. If he gets good chances, he'll score goals."