Houston, June 18 (IANS) The France striker Thierry Henry gave his blunt assessment following Portugal’s 1-1 draw against DR Congo in their FIFA World Cup 2026 opener as he felt Ronaldo’s movement hurt Portugal rather than helped them. He argued that Cristiano Ronaldo should focus on creating chances for Portugal rather than trying to score himself.

Henry, who won a World Cup with France in 1998, pointed out a moment in the second half in which Ronaldo ran into the path of midfielder Bruno Fernandes looking for a ball into the box.

Speaking in an analysis shared on Fox Sports, he explained why he felt Ronaldo’s movement hurt Portugal rather than helped them. “The team needs to score, not you need to score. Because he wants to score, he goes into the path of Bruno Fernandes,” Henry said.

Ronaldo’s run blocked a possible pass to Bruno Fernandes, who had space near the penalty spot. His argument was that Portugal needed the best scoring option, not just the ball aimed toward Ronaldo.

Henry further explained to go more into details, saying, “If you make that run here, you make the defender take a decision to crash the six-yard box. But because he wants to score, he goes into the path of Bruno Fernandes. If he goes into that six-yard box, you’ve been in that situation. You would have had to follow him, and then it would have been a tap-in for Bruno Fernandes.

“But because he wants to score, he goes into the path of the back pass. You see both players, and it’s easier for you to defend You saw the reaction of Bruno Fernandes behind, going like, let it roll, make a run, create space, so I can tap it in. It didn’t happen, he added.

Playing in a record sixth men’s World Cup, Ronaldo’s 143 international goals are the most in history and should he find the net at least once in Portugal’s remaining games, he will do what he wasn’t able to at the Euros two years ago and become the first player to score at six different World Cups.

–IANS

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