Portugal 1-1 DR Congo: Cristiano Ronaldo fails to respond to Lionel Messi’s incredible hat-trick as his country is held to a shock draw against weaker opponents
Ronaldo failed to make an impact as Portugal was held by the Democratic Republic of Congo (Image: DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
This was after the Lord Mayor’s Show, but Cristiano Ronaldo found himself the fading star of that show.
All for a good reason. Because if Lionel Messi had served the main course 24 hours earlier, his biggest rival would have only been able to serve up a ton of leftovers here.
In the process, he realized he was being outranked by a striker who was cheaper than what Ronaldo would earn in six months in Saudi Arabia. A player who only scored one goal last season. Please take a bow, Ioan Wissa.
This is not the sentence Newcastle United supporters expected to read, given how miserable Wissa’s first campaign on Tyneside turned out to be.
But Ouissa erased all that with a historic first-half equalizer, scoring the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s first World Cup goal and sealing a stunning upset in Houston.
This must have been Ronaldo’s reaction to seeing Cream rise to the top in North America. The first man to score in six different World Cups. He watched Messi score three incredible goals in his World Cup opener in Kansas.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland also contributed two goals in each match. That meant Ronaldo was under pressure to remind people that he could still be one of the top dogs.
If Ronaldo wants to dispel the theory that he is lacking in strength, he could not have asked for a more attractive stage. Roberto Martinez’s side appeared to be in complete control, pinning Congo deep in their own half.
Joao Neves had the first shot within six minutes, rising to meet Pedro Neto’s cross and firing a superb header past Lionel Mpathi.
Wissa tried to react, but his shot narrowly missed the target. Meanwhile, Cedric Bakumbu evaded two defenders but his shot deflected into the corner.
Portugal dominated the ball, but perhaps the “Leopards” weren’t meant to be cat-cats after all? Every time Ronaldo got hold of the ball, the octane rose.
Ronaldo reflected on a difficult night for Portugal (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
However, he was starting to feel frustrated, which was reflected in the fact that his most important contribution in the first half was reprimanding the referee for sending off Bernardo Silva.
It’s easy to whisper, but this team no longer revolves around the talisman. Bruno Fernandes, Neves, Silva and Vicinha were pulling most of the strings. Silva narrowly missed a cross from Fernandes, but his own cross almost hit Ronaldo.
Joao Cancelo’s center was also pitifully out of Ronaldo’s reach moments later. However, the Congo refused to become a puppet of Portugal.
Then the unthinkable happened when Congo equalized at Ouissa just before half-time, leaving the favorites stunned.
Congo could smell the blood as Bakumbu hit the post and Mpathi’s long throw set up a quick African counter-attack, but Bakumbu’s shot went over the crossbar.
Ronaldo then had two big moments that made a difference and saved the Portugal international’s face from turning as red as his shirt. Both were created by substitute Francisco Conceição, but both went to waste.
Portugal were getting desperate, but not so desperate that Martinez dragged Ronaldo out. He could not stand such acts of rebellion against the world of football. There are rumors that Martinez might retire after this World Cup.
However, if things continue as they are, he may end up passing away much earlier than planned – and that would not have been his decision.
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