HOUSTON (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo delivered an unforgettable performance in the first of his sixth game. world cup.
rear lionel messi, Kylian Mbappe and erling haaland Despite scoring every goal in the opening game, the 41-year-old Ronaldo failed to find the back of the net on Wednesday. Portugal vs Congo 1-1 draw.
With players like Vinicius Jr., Christian Pulisic, Victor Gokeres and harry kane Also, in this year’s World Cup, Ronaldo scored all the points in the early stages, but was kept scoreless, which is even more conspicuous.
However, the Portuguese great joins Messi as the only players to have appeared in six World Cups. But the next day, Argentina captain scores hat-trickRonaldo missed several chances to become the top scorer for the first time in six tournaments.
His shots in the 68th and 73rd minutes went wide of the target, but he didn’t look satisfied with either shot.
Ronaldo did not speak to reporters after the match, but posted this: About the match at X.
“It wasn’t the start we wanted, but this isn’t over yet,” he wrote. “Relax and concentrate on the next game.”
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez was asked on Wednesday if he would consider sacking Ronaldo.
“It makes no sense to have the best scorer in the world out when you need goals,” Martinez said. “Cristiano’s experience in the box is important. The way he attracts defenders is important.”
Congolese midfielder Galayel Mukau, 20 years younger than Ronaldo, took on the challenge of playing against one of the game’s greatest players.
“We know that Ronaldo is not the same as before,” Mukau said. “So we know he’s running less, he’s putting less effort. So, yeah, it was up to our defense to stop him. And they did a great job.”
Wednesday’s match was Ronaldo’s 229th international match, the most in men’s history. He won the European Championship with Portugal in 2016, but his best World Cup result was in the first tournament in 2006, when the team reached the semi-finals.
Martinez was asked whether Ronaldo would start for Portugal’s upcoming games against Uzbekistan and Colombia due to his age.
“We treat every player the same. We take it step by step,” Martinez said. “We will evaluate every player. It’s not a special issue. We don’t treat Cristiano by his age, we treat him as he feels.”
However, Ronaldo became the oldest outfield player to start a World Cup match, breaking the record set four years ago by Canadian midfielder Atiba Hutchinson. Cameroon great Roger Milla was the oldest outfielder to play in a World Cup match, coming off the bench at the 1994 World Cup at the age of 42.
This is likely to be the last World Cup for Ronaldo, who won the Champions League five times with Manchester United and Real Madrid and currently plays for Al Nasr in Saudi Arabia.
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
