Fans and pundits have been divided over the performance of one of football’s greatest players, Cristiano Ronaldo, following Portugal’s disappointing 1-1 draw with DR Congo in their opening Group K match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Wednesday.

The 41-year-old had only 25 touches and was visibly quiet, posing no significant attacking threat to the Congolese side throughout the game. This subsequently sparked debates among football commentators about the Real Madrid and Manchester United legend.

Many fans and pundits argue that the continued inclusion of Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal’s starting lineup is having a negative impact on the team’s attacking fluidity, citing his age and the decline of several attributes that once made him one of the game’s most dangerous players.

Meanwhile, the opposing side of the debate faulted his teammates for not creating chances for him in the game against DR Congo, particularly scapegoating Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Vitinha and João Neves.

One of the loudest critics was former Arsenal and Barcelona player Thierry Henry, a pundit on Fox Sports for the World Cup. He described Ronaldo as selfish, telling him to put the team first.

“One thing that’s important, people, please, at home: The team needs to score, not you need to score. Cristiano Ronaldo has been in this situation multiple times. If you make that run here, you make the defender take a decision to go to the six-yard box.

“But because he wants to score, he goes into the path of Bruno Fernandes,” Henry said.

Ronaldo’s former teammate at United, Paul Scholes, also argued that he shouldn’t be starting matches, stating, “At 41 years of age… I think there’s only one position on the pitch at 41 years of age where you should be starting a game, and that’s goalkeeper, for me.”

“So everyone is blaming Bruno Fernandes for not creating enough chances and no single human talks about the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo is too old to lead the line for Portugal at top level in 2026?,” a fan, @DexxterUtd, commented on X.

Coming to Ronaldo’s defence was World Cup winner and former Bayern Munich manager Jürgen Klinsmann, who argued that it is too early to judge the player. He noted that goals will eventually come for the Al Nassr forward in the competition.

“Sooner or later he (Cristiano Ronaldo) scores the most important goals for you and the most important goals are not in game one… Cristiano Ronaldo will score a couple of goals in this World Cup. I have zero doubts,” Klinsmann said on ESPN.

Nigerian sports journalist Buchi Laba also went off on Henry regarding his comments about Ronaldo, claiming that the former France international had long harboured hatred towards his ‘GOAT’.

“Thierry Henry has always been a Cristiano Ronaldo hater. Most ex footballers are. Sad bald man that was never the main man for France. Always scoring in less important matches and hiding when it matters for both country and club.

“Did he even score in any finals he played or Lead a project when he was the main man?. The main leader?. Nonsense!,” the Arsenal fan wrote on social media.

“Against DR Congo, Ronaldo won the space with his movements, he got into position raising his hand and his teammates did not pass him the ball. Neither Bruno nor Bernardo created a single clear chance for Cristiano throughout the entire game,” Alvaro Morales, an ESPN commentator, stated in his remarks about the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

He added, “Forget creating chances, they didn’t even score themselves. It doesn’t make sense to me that people are calling for Ronaldo to be benched when he isn’t getting any service in the first place.”