’s World Cup return with started with frustration, extra missed possibilities and one other reminder that his scoring document on the largest stage has gone quiet.
Portugal had been held to a 1-1 draw by DR Congo of their 2026 opener, a end result that instantly raised stress round Roberto Martinez’s assault.
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Ronaldo performed the total match, however couldn’t flip Portugal’s possession into the objective that might have modified the story of the evening. The query now could be how lengthy it has been since he final discovered the web at a World Cup.
Picture by David Buono/Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Pictures
Cristiano Ronaldo final scored at a World Cup towards in 2022
Ronaldo’s most up-to-date World Cup objective got here on November 24, 2022, when he scored from the penalty spot in Portugal’s 3-2 group-stage win over Ghana in .
That objective arrived within the sixty fifth minute and was traditionally important as a result of it made Ronaldo the primary male participant to attain in 5 completely different World Cups. On the time, it appeared like one other landmark in a event profession outlined by longevity and information.
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Since then, nevertheless, the objectives have stopped. Ronaldo failed to attain in Portugal’s remaining 2022 World Cup matches towards , , and , then drew one other clean towards DR Congo within the 2026 opener.
Meaning he has now gone 5 straight World Cup appearances with out scoring for Portugal. For a participant whose worldwide legacy has been constructed on decisive moments, the drought is turning into more durable to disregard.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s drought grows after Portugal draw with DR Congo
The DR Congo match made the priority sharper as a result of Portugal had sufficient management to win, however not sufficient precision within the remaining third to show stress right into a second objective.
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Portugal went forward early via Joao Neves, just for to equalize earlier than halftime. Ronaldo had alternatives after the break, however completed the evening and not using a objective and with out the end Portugal wanted to keep away from dropping factors.
There may be nonetheless time for Ronaldo to alter the tone of his event, and Portugal nonetheless have sufficient high quality to get well from the opening draw.
However the longer the drought runs, the extra each miss will likely be measured towards the query of whether or not Portugal are nonetheless getting the very best model of their captain.
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