France and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has criticised Cristiano Ronaldo‘s performance for Portugal against Congo DR in the World Cup.
Ronaldo failed to score in Portugal’s disappointing 1-1 draw on Wednesday in Houston.
On the FOX Sports panel, Henry specifically called out a moment during the 1-1 draw in which Ronaldo got in the way of teammate Bruno Fernandes, took a shot and fired wide of the post.
“One thing that’s important, people, please, at home: The team needs to score, not you need to score,” Henry said.
He then highlighted his issue with Ronaldo’s movement during a Portugal chance in which Fernandes was well-positioned to score.
“Cristiano Ronaldo has been in this situation multiple times. If you make that run here, you make the defender take a decision to go to the six-yard box.
“But because he wants to score, he goes into the path of Bruno Fernandes.
“If he goes into the six-yard box, the defender would have had to follow him, a tap-in for Bruno Fernandes. But because he wants to score, he goes into the path of the back pass — you see both players and it’s easier for you to defend.
“That’s my thing: the team needs to score, not you. You saw the reaction of Bruno Fernandes behind…’Let it roll. Make a run, create space so I can tap it in.’ It didn’t happen.”
Fernandes did appear visibly frustrated that Ronaldo had gotten in front of him and taken a shot.
Ronaldo became the oldest outfield player to start a World Cup game at 41 years and 123 days on Wednesday, as he also joined Argentina captain Lionel Messi as the only players to appear in six World Cups.
But it was not a game to remember for the Portuguese captain, as he finished with only 25 touches of the ball, the second fewest of his career in a World Cup start.
After longtime rival Messi began his World Cup with a hat trick against Algeria, while fellow superstar Kylian Mbappé scored two goals against Senegal for France, Ronaldo’s failure to score against Congo DR stands out.
– Cristiano Ronaldo: World Cup ‘far from over’ despite Portugal’s bad start
– World Cup Daily: Kane shines, Ronaldo blanks to close out Matchday 1
It wasn’t only Henry criticising Ronaldo’s performance, either. English pundit Chris Sutton, who played for Norwich City, Blackburn Rovers, and Celtic, said on X it was “embarrassingly weak from Roberto Martinez” to keep Ronaldo on for the full 90 minutes of the match.
“He should have hooked Ronaldo off but he’s too scared of upsetting him. Ronaldo is essentially the manager of Portugal,” Sutton said.
Ronaldo and Portugal are back in action against Uzbekistan on Tuesday in Houston before they face Colombia in their Group K final game on June 27.
