In Houston, Texas, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal faced off against DR Congo in their opening match of the World Cup. However, despite entering the tournament as one of the favorites, Portugal failed to infiltrate DR Congo’s defense.
Except for the early-minute goal, Portugal’s attack looked weak and was left frustrated by the underdogs. While expected to breeze past DR Congo, Roberto Martínez’s men failed to create an opening game impact. Captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who played the entire ninety minutes, left the match with a measly 5.6 rating.
Hounded by trolls and criticism on the internet, Ronaldo found support in his former Manchester United teammate, Wayne Rooney. The English legend heaped praise on Ronaldo’s gameplay and style.
“What [Cristiano] Ronaldo’s doing is he’s taking that option away from defenders,” Rooney explained. “He’s standing behind them, then they’re looking over their shoulders, like ‘where is he?’, then they drop and then it creates a lot of space in front of the back four – it’s really clever.”
Despite Rooney’s compliments, the 41-year-old actually failed to create an impact. Presented with several chances, Ronaldo failed to convert even a single one and has now gone 10 consecutive major tournament games without scoring.
However, Rooney’s comments left the internet divided with several calling out Rooney while several expressing their support for the former Manchester United forwards. “Rooney talks proper football and I’ve heard him talking c**p about Ronaldo so he ain’t glazing here he’s speaking facts and will criticise you for doing nothing,” wrote one fan. While another person commented, “When you understand ball, you know he’s talking sense.”
However, several more were on the other side of Rooney’s statements. “Yeah Wayne Rooney probably doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” commented one person. While another use wrote, “United players must be contractually obliged.”
With still two more group games to go, Cristiano Ronaldo has to bounce back and ensure his team qualifies for the next round and keep their World Cup hopes alive.
The way Wayne Rooney was glazing Christiano Ronaldo is wild. pic.twitter.com/YdkwoRWhYg
— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) June 17, 2026
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