There's a huge problem with this world-class football superstar. After the disastrous Euro 2024, where he played low-quality football and consequently dragged the team's performance down, and a World Cup that wasn't a dream, people want him to realize that his problem isn't age, but that no one in the team, not even coach Roberto Martinez, dares to tell him directly that they've run out of patience. Portuguese writer Miguel Dantas, in an article for the British newspaper The Guardian, bluntly stated that Ronaldo doesn't deserve to be a starter.
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Ronaldo underperformed in Portugal's 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo: AP |
Of course, when Ronaldo scores and Portugal wins, there's no problem, and people can say Portugal is a top contender for the championship, that this is Ronaldo, he was born to score and is craving his 1,000th career goal. But when he doesn't score, doesn't shine, only touches the ball 25 times in 97 minutes of the match and misses 3 not-so-clear chances, while Portugal only gets 1 point against an African team returning to the World Cup after 52 years, criticism is inevitable. But the story isn't simply about the result. Because a poor performance exposes too many problems for Portugal itself and for Ronaldo personally, who until now has always been the center of the team, a universe in itself within the collective, a person who cannot be touched for any reason.
After the match, the social media accounts of Bruno Fernandes, Joao Neves, Vitinha, and Pedro Neto were flooded with comments urging them to pass the ball to Ronaldo more often—a request that the account owners probably didn't enjoy. They came to the World Cup for the team, for their own glory, not just to run around and serve the ball to Ronaldo so he could continue making history.
The situation became even more complicated when Ronaldo did nothing to stop his sister from speaking out in his defense, but instead made things more tense. Elma Aveiro, Ronaldo's sister, berated a Portuguese journalist simply for challenging Ronaldo's untouchable position in the national team. "You're too old," Elma wrote on social media. "What you're doing only affects Ronaldo. Ronaldo doesn't care what you write. Go home." Commenting on this, the Portuguese sports newspaper Record wrote that "there might be an internal conflict within the Portuguese national team." Perhaps they are right.
The difficulties faced by the Portuguese team are not solely related to Ronaldo's position, playing style, and sluggishness. The statistics don't lie either, considering his long period of "silence" in the World Cup, while his arch-rival Messi consistently scored. Record points out that coach Martinez lacked tactical options to enhance Portugal's attacking prowess whenever Ronaldo was on the field.
His consistent starting roles have limited the creative options of the Spanish manager, and this will continue as long as he doesn't score. Debates about whether he deserves to go to the World Cup are pointless, because one of the greatest players in football history cannot sit at home. But the fact that debates about whether he should be a starter have erupted shows that he has become a problem.
However, no one in the Portuguese team is talking about it, even though they might think so. Portuguese fans are also very divided about their idol and are certainly not happy to see Messi still scoring. And now, the only thing Martinez and millions of Portuguese fans are hoping for, and perhaps praying for, is that Ronaldo will score and Portugal will beat Uzbekistan in Houston. Otherwise, the storm will continue to rage and turn this World Cup for Portugal and Ronaldo into hell.
Match schedule for June 23rd 0:00, Group J: Argentina – Austria 4 o'clock, Group I: France – Iraq 7:00 AM, Group I: Norway – Senegal 10:00 AM, Group J: Jordan - Algeria  Vietnam encourages US businesses to expand investment in high technology.On the morning of June 26th, at the Government Headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung received Mr. Jeff Place, Supply Chain Director of Coherent Group (USA). During the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam encourages US businesses to expand investment, especially in high-tech, innovation, and semiconductor industries.  Encourage U.S. businesses to expand investment in high-tech sectors.Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung said that Vietnam welcomes US businesses to continue expanding their operations in Vietnam, especially in high-tech industries and sectors with high added value.  Vietnam and the United States strengthen cooperation in addressing the consequences of war.VTV.vn - On June 22, General Secretary and President To Lam received Acting Secretary of the US Navy Hung Cao. |
Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/the-thao/worldcup-2026/ngay-ronaldo-chong-lai-ca-the-gioi-1045609
