What went wrong for Cristiano Ronaldo in his first World Cup 2026 match?

These are the words of Cristiano Ronaldo after Portugal were held to a 1-1 draw by DR Congo in their opening Group K game at the World Cup 2026 .

One presumes he means Portugal’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages, but could it also be applied to his own international career?

On a historic day, in what is turning into a historic World Cup, the 41-year-old became the oldest outfield player to start a World Cup match – though Cameroon great Roger Milla remains the oldest outfield player to appear in a World Cup match, coming on as a substitute aged 42 during the 1994 World Cup, in which he also scored.

Ronaldo also joined longtime rival and Argentina captain Lionel Messi as the only players to play in six World Cups.

Messi’s hat-trick in the win over Algeria less than 24 hours earlier saw him equal Ronaldo’s record of scoring in five World Cups and draw level as the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer and, with Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane scoring twice in wins for France, Norway and England, all eyes were on another global icon, Portugal’s No 7 in Houston.

However, Ronaldo endured an afternoon of frustration leading the line as Portugal dominated possession but were unable to get the better of some disciplined DR Congo defending.

He did not appear a natural target man and had just 25 touches, the fewest of any Portugal starter, and 10 fewer than Yoane Wissa, who played upfront and scored the equaliser for DR Congo. By comparison, Portugal substitute Rafael Leao had 14 touches after he came on after 72 minutes.

It was Ronaldo’s second-fewest touches ever in 23 World Cup appearances and 17 of his 22 attempted passes went backwards.