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Cristiano Ronaldo missed 2 second-half chances successful Portugal's gully against DR Congo connected Wednesday
ByPhil Cartwright
BBC Sport journalist
Three of football's biggest superstars lit up the 2026 World Cup connected Tuesday.
Kylian Mbappe's 2 goals against Senegal made him France's all-time starring goalscorer.
Norway's Erling Haaland past marked his World Cup debut with 2 goals successful a triumph against Iraq.
Lionel Messi went 1 better, netting a hat-trick for Argentina against Algeria to determination level with Germany's Miroslav Klose arsenic the joint-leading goalscorer successful World Cup finals history.
On Wednesday, the signifier was acceptable for Cristiano Ronaldo to marque his ain people connected the tourney - but the Portugal skipper was incapable to travel suit.
His broadside laboured to a 1-1 gully against DR Congo and Ronaldo struggled to marque an interaction successful his archetypal accidental to marque past by becoming the archetypal antheral to people successful six antithetic World Cups.
Ex-Premier League striker Chris Sutton, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live, was captious of brag Roberto Martinez's determination to permission the 41-year-old - who has 229 caps and 143 goals for his state - connected the tract for the afloat lucifer successful Houston.
As striker Goncalo Ramos replaced midfielder Vitinha successful the 83th minute, Sutton said: "That's embarrassing from Martinez. It mightiness enactment but are we each watching a antithetic game?
"He's frightened to instrumentality him off. He's not the manager. He (Ronaldo) whitethorn extremity up scoring the victor but the crippled has passed him by today."
Before kick-off, ex-England skipper Wayne Rooney joked that his erstwhile Manchester United team-mate would beryllium "raging - but successful a bully way" that the different stars had begun the tourney truthful good the erstwhile day.
"That's however he's pushed himself and his mentality is that everything is simply a situation for him," said Rooney connected BBC One.
"Over the years, him and Messi person pushed each different to get to these levels.
"He wants to beryllium the champion and that's not successful a atrocious way. He'll privation to spell retired determination and people 2 oregon 3 contiguous to amusement he's inactive astatine that level."
But Portugal's opening radical lucifer did not spell to program for Ronaldo nor his much-lauded team-mates, contempt them taking a sixth-minute pb erstwhile Pedro Neto's left-wing transverse was superbly headed successful by Paris St-Germain's Joao Neves.
Newcastle guardant Yoane Wissa nodded successful a deserved equaliser for DR Congo conscionable earlier half-time and for each Portugal's dominance of the shot - they had 75% possession - they managed lone 7 attempts astatine goal. Only 1 - the extremity scored by Neves - was connected target.
Highlights: Portugal 1-1 DR Congo
Al-Nassr striker Ronaldo, who is closing successful connected 1,000 vocation goals for nine and country, had 2 chances successful speedy succession midway done the 2nd half.
Half-time substitute Francisco Conceicao doubly chopped the shot backmost to him from the right.
The archetypal was played somewhat down Ronaldo, who sent a tame effort past the adjacent post. While the shot was successful a amended presumption for the 2nd opportunity, the guardant was enactment nether unit by the DR Congo defence and his decorativeness flew wide.
Ronaldo's tally of 25 touches was the fewest of Portugal's outfield players who played the afloat match, portion helium has present gone 10 consecutive games astatine large tournaments without uncovering the net.
"His stats volition ne'er beryllium the best," said Rooney astatine full-time. "What helium needs is chances. If helium gets bully chances, he'll people goals."
Rooney and 2 erstwhile France internationals, Gael Clichy and Olivier Giroud, each thought Conceicao was successful a amended presumption to sprout astatine extremity himself alternatively than effort to acceptable up Ronaldo for the striker's archetypal chance.
Former France full-back Clichy besides believed Ronaldo's superstar presumption mightiness "unconsciously" person an effect connected however immoderate of his team-mates play.
"We said astatine the opening of the crippled that Ronaldo volition beryllium helping young players due to the fact that of his quality and experience, but sometimes unconsciously those kinds of players tin benignant of instrumentality excessively overmuch light," helium told BBC One.
"In the archetypal chance, possibly if it was not Ronaldo, helium (Conceicao) would person had a spell astatine goal.
"I've lived it with immoderate players astatine Arsenal and Manchester City, wherever you consciousness that the subordinate is specified an important player, unconsciously he's taking everything from each player.
"I'm not saying it's close oregon wrong, but erstwhile you instrumentality them out, you tin spot players taking responsibility."
Clichy said that concern was not needfully Ronaldo's responsibility and added: "This is mean and this is wherever the prime of the manager is important due to the fact that during the 90 minutes, we were saying, 'Is helium going to instrumentality him retired due to the fact that we cognize he's got a extremity successful him?'.
"But astatine the aforesaid time, we cognize the crippled is sometimes not earthy due to the fact that of him being connected the pitch."
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