The World Cup is in full swing with some of the world’s best players impressing in the opening round of fixtures.
However, one football superstar who has yet to hit his stride is Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, whose team were held to a 1-1 draw by DR Congo in their opening Group K.
Portugal were not as dominant as expected
The expectation of Portugal dominating the game completely looked set to be played out when PSG midfielder Joao Neves headed home the opening goal with just six minutes on the clock.
However, DR Congo equalised in first-half stoppage time through a Yoane Wissa header. Portugal struggled to break through their stubborn opposition’s defence, and in the end had to settle for a point.
The stats after the game showed that Portugal had 75 per cent of possession. However, it was interesting to see that both teams had just six shots on goal, with DR Congo getting two on target, whereas Portugal’s only effort on target came from the goal.
Possession means nothing if it leads to nothing, and clearly, the Selecao’s possession was not productive.
Big decision about Ronaldo
.jpg){kind=link}
Cristiano Ronaldo has been one of the greats of the game. However, the forward is now 41 years of age and will inevitably no longer have the same impact on games that he did in his younger years.
Ronaldo has remained prolific in the Saudi Pro League and scored five goals in the World Cup qualifying.
The fact that he has now failed to score in ten consecutive tournament games illustrates his downturn in form in producing for Portugal when it has really mattered.
Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez has a big decision to make over the veteran’s game time. He decided to leave Ronaldo on the pitch in the game against Congo, when he could have easily substituted the forward.
The decision to substitute Ronaldo probably wouldn’t have gone down well with the massive crowd, or even with the player himself, but it may well have benefited the team, which is what’s most important.
Portugal has other talented attacking players, including Bruno Fernandes, Rafael Leao, and Goncalo Ramos. However, the attacking responsibility always seems to be put on Ronaldo to win games.
It would be a brave decision to drop Ronaldo, especially with a game against the minnows Uzbekistan up next in the group, but it is one Martinez may have to make if Portugal is to go deep into the tournament.