Houston, June 18 (IANS) Cristiano Ronaldo has defended Portugal’s sluggish start to their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign, insisting “nothing was missing” in the team’s performance despite a disappointing 1-1 draw against Congo here at Houstan Stadium.

Ronaldo, who became the oldest outfield player to ever start a World Cup match, played the full 90 minutes but was unable to make a decisive impact in front of goal as all three of his strikes went wide off the target.

“Nothing was missing, football is like this. Portugal could have won, but they could also have lost,” Ronaldo told Sport TV Portugal in a brief exchange after the game.

Ronaldo played out his sixth World Cup game with zero shots on target. It’s also the second time he recorded zero shots on target in a World Cup match in which he played 90 minutes.

This was his 23rd career World Cup game, tied for fourth most in competition history. Ronaldo has now gone 10 consecutive major tournament games without scoring for Portugal (FIFA World Cup and Euros). He’s taken 33 shots, with 11 going on target.

Portugal predictably monopolised possession. They had over 75 per cent of it. They also led early courtesy of a header by the seldom-anything-but-superb Joao Neves. Congo, however, refused to adhere to the remainder of the script. While Portugal had lots of time on the ball, Congo threatened to ripple the net with it more. Ultimately, Yoane Wissa’s header earned them a deserved draw.

However, the forward’s presence on the pitch for the entire duration was strongly defended by Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez, who dismissed any talk of benching the skipper when the team was chasing a winner.

“It makes no sense to bench a player like Ronaldo when you need goals,” Martinez stated, emphasising how the Al-Nassr forward attracts defenders and creates vital spaces for his teammates.

Portugal will look to bounce back from the opening-day stalemate in their upcoming Group Stage fixtures as they look to secure a spot in the knockout rounds.

They will next take on Uzbekistan on Tuesday at the same venue before facing Colombia in their last group game on June 28 in Miami.

–IANS

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