A day after three of soccer’s top stars scored multiple goals, Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t able to do the same in his first match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. However, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimović thought Ronaldo might have been a bit too desperate to score a goal in Portugal’s 1-1 draw against DR Congo.
In the 68th minute of Wednesday’s match, Ronaldo had a shot that went wide of the right post that could’ve broken the 1-1 tie if the shot had been on target. However, Henry and Ibrahimović believe that Ronaldo made the wrong move prior to receiving the pass, iterating that he should’ve let the ball go to teammate Bruno Fernandes.
“One thing that is important people, please, at home: The team needs to score, not you need to score,” Henry said. “Cristiano Ronaldo has been in that situation multiple times. If you make that run here, you make the defender make a decision to crash 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 — you’ve been in that situation, Alexi — you would’ve had to follow him, and it would’ve been 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.”
“Normally, as a striker, you go from first post to second post to bring the defender with you to open the space for the guy behind,” Ibrahimović said. “So, obviously you made the wrong choice here, Cristiano.”
The missed shot was one of a game-high three shot attempts for Ronaldo on Wednesday. However, none of those shots were on target, as he also had five touches in DR Congo’s box.
However, Ronaldo wasn’t alone in Portugal’s struggles on Wednesday. While Portugal controlled possession for 75% of the match, DR Congo had more total shots (8-7) and expected goals (0.83-0.64), per FotMob.
Cristiano Ronaldo had three shots in Wednesday’s draw, but none were on target. (Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)
So, as Portugal only walked away with one point, Henry called on the rest of the Seleção roster to up their game and set Ronaldo up with better chances, as he doesn’t think the 41-year-old can create strong opportunities for himself anymore.
“If you play with Cristiano Ronaldo, the other guys need to do a tiny bit more in terms of running in behind and trying to help him because we know what he is right now,” Henry said. “He’s not going to run into the channel. He’s not going to stretch a team. You need to feed him in the box in order for him to score goals. In the first half, they were very passive in terms of running in behind, because we all know he isn’t that type of guy anymore. If you want him to score, you have to feed him.”
How To Watch 2026 FIFA World Cup
The World Cup will run from June 11–July 19, 2026. Spread across three countries, the tournament will culminate with the final on July 19 at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. All 104 tournament matches will air live across FOX and FS1 with every match streaming live and on-demand within both the FOX One and the FOX Sports apps.
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