World Cup 2026: Cristiano Ronaldo fails to match fellow superstars in Portugal’s draw with DR Congo

By starting the match, Ronaldo became the oldest outfield player to start a World Cup match at 41 years and 132 days of age.

It was a surprise, therefore, that the veteran was left on the field for the duration of the match.

Ex-Premier League striker Chris Sutton, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live, was critical of boss Roberto Martinez’s decision to leave Ronaldo – who has 229 caps and 143 goals for his country – on the field for the full match in Houston.

As striker Goncalo Ramos replaced midfielder Vitinha in the 83th 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, ex-England captain Wayne Rooney joked that his former Manchester United team-mate would be “raging – but in a good way” that the other stars had begun the tournament so well the previous day.

“That’s how he’s pushed himself and his mentality is that everything is a challenge for him,” said Rooney on 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.”

But Portugal’s opening group match did not go to plan for Ronaldo nor his much-lauded team-mates, despite them taking a sixth-minute lead when Pedro Neto’s left-wing cross was superbly headed in by Paris St-Germain’s Joao Neves.

Newcastle forward Yoane Wissa nodded in a deserved equaliser for DR Congo just before half-time and for all Portugal’s dominance of the ball – they had 75% possession – they managed only seven attempts at goal. Only one – the goal scored by Neves – was on target.