‘The straight line is not the quickest’

Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez says Cristiano Ronaldo was “important” in his side’s opening match of the World Cup 2026 despite the striker only touching the ball 25 times in the draw with DR Congo.

Captain Ronaldo had his second-fewest touches ever in a World Cup match, only taking possession less in a 1-0 win over the Netherlands in 2006 in a last-16 match featuring four red cards.

“It makes no sense to substitute the best goalscorer in world football in a game when you need goals,” said Martinez, who saw Ronaldo complete 90 minutes for his country for the first time since November 2025 but go a fourth international without a goal.

“Clearly, when you look for goals, you need to have Cristiano on the pitch.”

World Cup 2026: Portugal vs Dr Congo ‘difficult’

Ronaldo is his country’s record 143-goal scorer but has not netted in his last five matches at the World Cup and has one goal in eight games at the finals.

After Paris Saint-Germain’s Joao Neves headed Portugal in front in the sixth minute in Houston, Newcastle’s Yoane Wissa followed suit for DR Congo during first-half added time to earn The Leopards their first-ever point at the finals.

Martinez sent on Francisco Conceicao for Bernardo Silva at half-time and made second-half attacking changes by bringing on Rafael Leao and Goncalo Ramos for Pedro Neto and Vitinha.

“We were finding it difficult to get into the box,” said Martinez. “Congo had a back five that, at times, was even a back six.

“You can use the qualities of Cristiano Ronaldo [in that situation]. What we needed was to add Goncalo Ramos without doing it in a way that it would become even more [of] a difficult [forward] line [tactically].

“As you know in football, the straight line is not the quickest way. For us, in moments like this, the experience of Cristiano in the box is important.

“The way he attracts defenders is important, the way we can use the spaces is important and every player has a responsibility or a piece of quality on the pitch.”

World Cup 2026: Ronaldo, Ramos ‘need discipline’

Joao Cancelo had a goal from an overhead kick correctly disallowed for offside during a second half in which the wideman and Bruno Fernandes went close and Ronaldo, whose aerial prowess has been a feature of his glittering career, had two chances.

Portugal had more than 75% of possession and one attempt on target, with DR Congo looking the likelier winners late on.

“In our game structure, the striker needs to have a lot of discipline,” said Martinez. “A lot of discipline means staying on the defensive line, behind the centre-backs, opening up spaces.

“After the first goal, we didn’t reach the final third at the level we need to be able to provide service to the striker or to be able to utilise the movements of the striker.

“There are aspects we need to improve but the discipline of the players was very demanding. Now it’s the aspect of being able to utilise all the players on the pitch: the striker needs to be close to the goal, but we need to look for the spaces and arrive with the ball in that position.

“In the second half, with the introduction of Chico Conceicao, we reached the final third a little bit more. The space in the defensive line was starting to open up more, and it was the time to utilise Goncalo.

“We had Bruno Fernandes in positions of arriving late. It’s about utilising the players we have at the right moments.”

Cristiano Ronaldo: Portugal ‘assess every player’

The oldest outfield player at the finals at 41, Ronaldo had started in each of Portugal’s previous 18 matches at the finals before he came on as a second-half substitute during the last-16 win over Switzerland and quarter-final defeat to Morocco at the 2022 edition.

Martinez suggested the Al-Nassr skipper will not be given special treatment if his condition appears to wane.

“We treat every player in the same way,” explained Martinez. “We go step-by-step, we analyse every day. I have to assess every player.

“It is important that everybody is 100% but… we don’t treat Cristiano with an age, with a number. We treat Cristiano [according to] his symptoms, how he feels and with the aspects he gives on the pitch.”

Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal World Cup 2026 schedule

Portugal are next in action against Uzbekistan, who lost their opener 3-1 to Colombia on Thursday, on June 23 at 18:00 BST.

Here’s how their schedule looks and their potential subsequent fixtures, as well as how to watch in the UK.