Cristiano Ronaldo given World Cup teammate warning after historic blank

Cristiano Ronaldo has been told he risks the wrath of his teammates if he can’t adapt for Portugal at the World Cup.

The legendary forward, who has 973 goals in his storied career, was a shadow of himself in the 1-1 draw with Democratic Republic of Congo in Group K.

AFP

How bad was Cristiano Ronaldo?

Overall, the 41-year-old touched the ball just 25 times, the fewest he has ever had in a major tournament match where he has played the full 90 minutes.

Not only that, he got in the way of what would have been a great chance for Manchester United superstar Bruno Fernandes, and fired a poor shot wide.

Actions like that meant Roberto Martinez‘s team could only muster three shots on target during the entirety of the match – one of them being their goal after six minutes from Joao Neves.

That is despite a team total of 769 passes in the match and 75 per cent possession against their African opponents.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s rivals are starring at the World Cup

Criticism of his performances was exacerbated with rival forwards Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, and Harry Kane all putting in star turns.

Argentina icon Messi is now the joint-top goalscorer in World Cup history with 16, alongside Miroslav Klose, with a hat-trick against Algeria.

Meanwhile Mbappe (14) and Kane (10) aren’t too far behind. Ronaldo, though, only has eight.

And former Premier League and England forward Gabriel Agbonlahor believes his teammates will soon be fed up of him starting games if he can’t be a team player.

What’s gone wrong for Cristiano Ronaldo?

He said on World Cup Gameday Drive: “I don’t think he should be [starting]. I look at Portugal, I look at the players that they’ve got, I look at other strikers and maybe they could have played in front of Ronaldo. But when it isn’t going well, take him off.

“That’s the only problem I’ve got with it. If you are going to start him and it’s not working, after 55, 60 minutes, off. It’s not working, he’s not holding the ball up, he’s coming too deep and trying to play a number 10 role.

“Thierry Henry, last night after the game, summed it up perfectly.

“The cross comes in and as a striker you know where to go. You know where Erling Haaland scored his goal the other night? In front of the keeper in the six-yard box. [But he is] dropping off into Fernandes’ space and Fernandes throws his arms up.

“I get a feeling that some of the players might start to get fed up the longer this goes on.

“How many tournaments are Portugal going to go through where all you’re hearing about is Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldo?

“You watch Messi and you see a bunch of soldiers next to him who are fighting for Messi to win again the other night when they’re walking out of the tunnel during the game, they’re fighting for Messi.

“You don’t really see that vibe at Portugal. You see that it’s always a Ronaldo problem. Should he be starting? And if you’re some of the other strikers on the bench, you’re saying like, any danger?

Why hasn’t Cristiano Ronaldo retired?

Asked why he’s still continuing for his nation despite looking well past his best, Agbonlahor added: “It’s ego, isn’t it? Cristiano Ronaldo, you could say, is bigger than Portugal.

“Messi, his biggest rival this generation, has won the World Cup and Messi scored a hat-trick in his first game. Ronaldo’s thinking, I can do that. No matter what anyone thinks of Ronaldo, he’s still a goal scorer.

“Yes, the last two tournaments he hasn’t turned up, but the Nations League last summer, scored in the semi-final, scored in the final. So he’s probably saying to his critics, well, the Nations League is a competition that Portugal have done very well in, and won. And I scored two goals in the semi-final and the final, scored a goal.

“You have to be able to affect the game. You need someone to hold the ball up. You need someone to attract two defenders to you. It creates space for all the other players.

“When you’re looking at Neves, you’re looking at Vitinha, and Fernandes. I bet they’re dying for a striker, running in behind. Not coming into their space, it’s too crowded in that midfield. So Roberto Martinez has got a lot of decisions to make.

“But I think the next game is Uzbekistan. I think he starts him, because he’ll think to himself, ‘Ronaldo will score against them, and then everyone be quiet then’. That’s what I think will happen.”

Getty

Andy Brassell’s verdict

European football expert Andy Brassell believes the quickest fix, though, might entail Martinez reworking his tactics ahead of their game with Uzbekistan on Tuesday.

“For me, it’s not just Cristiano Ronaldo’s problem. It’s Roberto Martinez’s problem,” he told White and Jordan on talkSPORT.

“He’s just really mismanaged this for a couple of years now. And look, they can’t find a way to create for Ronaldo.

“You bear in mind that goal that they scored from João Neves is a really good example of why they don’t really need Cristiano Ronaldo at the moment, because they’ve got a 5ft 9in guy who can come in the box and score those headers.

“But really, it was an example of how Portugal are not doing what Ronaldo needs at the moment and Ronaldo’s not doing what Portugal need either.”