'Scared to take him off' - Ronaldo struggles after fellow superstars sparkle

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Cristiano Ronaldo missed two second-half chances in Portugal's draw against DR Congo By Phil Cartwright BBC Sport journalist Published 17 June 2026 Three of football's biggest superstars lit up the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday. Kylian Mbappe's two goals against Senegal made him France's all-time leading scorer. Norway's Erling Haaland then marked his World Cup debut with two goals in a victory against Iraq. Lionel Messi went one better, netting a hat-trick for Argentina against Algeria to move level with Germany's Miroslav Klose as the joint-leading goalscorer in World Cup finals history. On Wednesday, the stage was set for Cristiano Ronaldo to make his own mark on the tournament - but the Portugal captain was unable to follow suit. His side laboured to a 1-1 draw against DR Congo and Ronaldo struggled to make an impact in his first opportunity to make history by becoming the first man to score in six different World Cups. Ex-Premier League striker Chris Sutton, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live, was critical of boss Roberto Martinez's decision to leave the 41-year-old - who has 229 caps and 143 goals for his country - on the field for the full match in Houston. As striker Goncalo Ramos replaced midfielder Vitinha in the 83th minute, Sutton said: "That's embarrassing from Martinez. It might work but are we all watching a different game? "He's scared to take him off. He's not the manager. [Ronaldo] may end up scoring the winner but the game has passed him by today." DR Congo earn first World Cup point to frustrate Portugal and Ronaldo England win thrilling World Cup opener against Croatia Before kick-off, ex-England captain Wayne Rooney joked that his former Manchester United team-mate would be "raging - but in a good way" that the other stars had begun the tournament so well the previous day. "That's how he's pushed himself and his mentality is that everything is a challenge for him," said Rooney on BBC One. "Over the years, him and Messi have pushed each other to get to these levels. "He wants to be the best and that's not in a bad way. He'll want to go out there and score two or three tonight to show he's still at that level." But Portugal's opening group match did not go to plan for Ronaldo nor his much-lauded team-mates, despite them taking a sixth-minute lead when Pedro Neto's left-wing cross was superbly headed in by Paris St-Germain's Joao Neves. Newcastle forward Yoane Wissa nodded in a deserved equaliser for DR Congo just before half-time and for all Portugal's dominance of the ball - they had 75% possession - they managed only seven attempts at goal. Only one - the goal scored by Neves - was on target. To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Highlights: Portugal 1-1 DR Congo Al-Nassr striker Ronaldo, who is closing in on 1,000 career goals for club and country, had two chances in quick succession midway through the second half.