Portugal kicked off their 2026 World Cup campaign with an uninspiring 1-1 draw against DR Congo. João Neves opened the scoring early, but Yoane Wissa’s header late in the first half gave DR Congo their first point in World Cup history. Poppy Miller, Nigel Reo-Coker, Mikel Grella, and Troy Deeney recap Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance, and discuss what went wrong for Portugal today.
00:00 Is Ronaldo holding Portugal back?
01:28 Messi’s performance vs. Ronaldo’s performance
03:01 Will Ronaldo play the full match every game?
05:44 Breaking down Portugal’s tacticts
08:39 What will Roberto Martinez change next game?
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Give DRC credit. It's not ronaldos fault. Portugal just tan into a very good team
Guys, Please can you talk about the football and not the people? DR Congo were better than people thought and everyone including Portugal didn't expect that..
DR Congo were Overall Better than Portugal not necessarily person for person but their tactics, and thats what you need in this competition!
I am Portuguese, I am 55 years old, and I have seen it all in our nation's football, but what is happening today is unacceptable. Having a Spanish manager leading the Portuguese national team leads to this: it is exactly like having a Trojan Horse inside our home. We have opened the doors to our own destruction. National teams that are historical rivals cannot, under any circumstances, have managers from the neighboring country.This Roberto Martínez is a weak, spineless manager, completely devoid of personality. He cannot handle the pressure of the job and does not have what it takes to drive a Ferrari. History does not lie: he already did the exact same thing with the Belgian national team, where he wasted and threw away the best generation of footballers that country ever had. Now, history is repeating itself, and Portugal is the victim.Handing over the best generation in the history of Portuguese football to Martínez is not just a tactical error; it is a crime against our sporting homeland. The Federation opened its doors to a soft man, without the backbone or the character needed to lead champions. Martínez is the prototype of failure disguised as diplomacy: he talks a lot in press conferences, smiles for the cameras, but is incapable of making a tough decision or benching whoever needs to be benched.Under the command of this manager, Portugal has become a predictable, cowardly, and soulless team, condemned to cruise past mediocre sides in the qualifiers only to collapse shamefully at the very first real test. Martínez is not a leader; he is a VIP passenger watching the waste of our talent from the front row. Disaster is inevitable.
Joao Felix is the Saudi Pro league player of the season and he combines well with Ronaldo for their club yet the Martinez couldn't even bring him in! Martinez is the main problem not Ronaldo and I hope he realises his mistakes.
I have this feeling bruno and the others hate him but what did modric do? I dont hear anything about modric? played also bad. He should be a starter but ronaldo shouldnt. wow. the whole squad played bad. No one was good. Cris is still better as 41 year old than some other strikers.
troy mad congested
2:17 Yes Messi is 38, but he as close as someone can be to becoming 39 years old in one week. And this Messi of the 2026 2026 look greater than the 37 years old(a few months to become 38) Cr. Ronaldo of the 2022 WC.
I once explain why I choose Messi as a superior footballer than CR7
https://youtube.com/shorts/_wuu1a7xUEs?si=toMEi42UHQLm9jKx
It is in this short. I said CR7 will hit that pass just for the tap in goal to be rule offside
Watch carefully that short, if yesterday he do a dummy and let the ball roll for Bruno that will be a 1000 IQ goal
Trashing Ronaldo for clicks and it puts food on their table !!
He's doing more harm than good? What are they talking about?
I agree with the first speaker 💯👍
hope portugal loses
they should bench him next game and see how he reacts.
Mano, Ronaldo should be just an honorary mention in this team, not a first team player. Unc slows everyone down and kills the vibe in the locker room for sure. Or for suiuuuu?
Why's old mate got a hat on indoors? Is there sun inside?
Ibrahimovic said it best when he said, "I cant offer as much as I can anymore, it's time to let the next generation come through". Legend.
Its a team game and Portugal besides didnt play well none of you are even mentioning that!! All one sided
The service wasn't there for CR7 and the team played like garbage
You can laugh all you want, but CR7 is dragging Portugal down right now. At this stage of his career, he'd be much more impactful coming off the bench for the final 20 minutes. He'll probably score against Uzbekistan, and then everyone will act like they've been proven right. One goal, however, doesn't erase the overall performance! He is the one he should deal about his ego and be a part of a success by letting the new generation of talents to shine!
The so called best midfield in the world could only create one chance after over 700 passes and a 41 year old CF is the one to blame
Portugal have made a statue of Ronaldo for the world cup. It was on the pitch for 90 minutes during the Congo game
Its crazy to see the hate ronaldo is getting after one game. The team doesn't pass to him, they don't make runs for him, they don't support him, and they expect him to win the game by himself? Watch the goal again, ronaldo was in a better position, if the pass was to bruno it would've easily been intercepted, bruno was way too far back to get the pass. ronaldo had to take the chance but the pass was awkward so he couldn't score. ppl treat him so unfairly just because they're scared he gives messi real competition
Its just a matter of perspective.
Us argentina fans always said that you wouldn’t win the WC. Delusional six pack fans ignored that.
We are saying it again, PORTUGAL WILL NOT WIN THE WORLD CUP 2026.
And as long as Cristiano is playing as a striker where in his mentality, i his mind the goal post is in the moon, he will always fire shots at the moon.
Also I don’t even understand why do portugese team play for the world cup. Ronaldo himself has stated that this 7-8 game match is worth nothing 😂😂😂😂
Its a great time to be a messi fan since December 18 2022😂😂😂
Portuguese here.
There is NO doubt in my mind, Ronaldo is starting the next game also.
Unfortunately.
He is at best a substitute now. 41 y.o.
Doesn't take anything he did away from him.
Roberto martinez is a very bad coach. And he's got no balls, pun intended.
People acting like this is new with Ronaldo. He's been the key issue for the last two tournaments. Greedy, selfish and costly.
Why do I feel the pundits are jealous of Ronaldo. The entire team was poor.
Still in great shape, but Ronaldo cannot contribute unless someone crosses it directly to his head or foot. what a legend and sad to see his ego is in the way of Portugal's success.
Ronoldo – I AM
Messi. – All of Us
Expectation : Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi
Reality : dude can't even beat Lionel Mpasi the Congo gk 😭😭
Its easier when he plays against Armenia, Luxembourg or al fateh
remember when he was benched at the last world cup and Goncalo, his replacement, scored the tournament's first hattrick?
Haters still hate but we win with him or loose with him🎉🎉🎉
Keep playing Ronaldo, Roberto Martinez!! We all want Portugal eliminated!
This has nothing to do with CR7. Portugal as a team didn't do good. Playing Congo is very difficult.
Karma hitting him back after all this year hate or obsession towards Messi…God hasn't forget
Argentina without Messi is like Portugal with Ronaldo
No hate on Messi but they brushed aside his deserved red card that was not given, not even a yellow. Also no mention of many other Portugal players that had stinkers passing the ball side way and backward all game, no mention of how DR Congo played way better vs Portugal than Algeria did vs Argentina, ZIdane's son mistakes in the first 2 goals. Starting Ronaldo might not be it for sure but this result was not because of him.
Deeney talking about the game passing by Ronaldo lol, Deeney retired at 35 with about 214 gaols in his entire career. Ronaldo has scored more than 240 gaols after turning 35.
Yup Henry said the same and they are both correct Ronaldo not thinking about the team need to score he’s like no I need to score
Messi will create for a team mate to score. Ronaldo creates for himself. His free kicks prove that, he always shoots, never crosses into the box
Ronaldo seems to expect his teammates to create every chance for him. He only needs a touch to score, but he doesn't contribute enough with pressing, movement, or creating space for others. That's why, in my opinion, he cannot be compared to Messi at this stage.
If Portugal want to progress in this World Cup they may need to consider benching Ronaldo and using players who can contribute more to the overall team play.
ouwe kabouter naldo
when you realise ronaldo has had the advantage this whole time because he is older than messi and now age is catching up to him
Portugal created nothing useful, why is Ronaldo the topic of discussion when Bruno failed to create a single big chance, vitinha was missing, bernado silva was lost but ronaldo is on the chopping board
If Portugal keeps using ronaldo, Portugal will be playing iwith 10. And with Martinez, Portugal is actually playing with 9
Pendudoggy without social media is 000
Pendudoggy deceived people for many years
This is so hard to take for me but easy, its only one game. We'll see
Portugal had 800 passes, And ronaldo had 25 touches . I rest my case.
Stop holding on to pass delusions of grandeur, Portugal. A 41-year-old player will not win the World Cup for portugal. Stop holding on to the memory of 25-year-old Cristiano…the game has evolved…players have evolved…..CR7 has aged. Allow him to GO with grace as one of the greatest ever …. retire the grand master and save portugal football dignity. The age of Cristiano is Over…we were all honoured to bear witness!
Without criticising Ronaldo ther are no views for 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂