Rooney defends Ronaldo after Portugal draw

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has defended his former club team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portugal captain delivered a subdued showing in his nation’s opening 1-1 World Cup draw against DR Congo.

41-year-old Ronaldo spurned two clear cut chances for his team who start the World Cup campaign on a disappointing note as they would have been hoping to win against DR Congo as they look to potentially secure a first ever World Cup title.

Poor performance from Portugal

Ronaldo’s performance also comes amidst criticism as some feel that Portugal would be a more effective side without him in the lineup at this moment in time.

Rooney suggested that blame for Portugal’s below-par performance should be on the team, not Ronaldo.

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“The first game of the group is so important and for Portugal to perform the way they have performed, you want to see more energy, I want to see more legs in the team,” Rooney said on BBC.

“I want to see players run past Cristiano Ronaldo at times. I think it was a poor performance from Portugal."

The former England international said Ronaldo’s stats are never going to be the best, so what he needs are chances.

"If he gets chances, and a good chance, he will score goals," Rooney said, adding that stats from the last five years mean nothing.

Ronaldo struggling with pace

With 143 international goals from 229 games, Ronaldo is Portugal’s all-time top scorer, boasting a record that may not be broken anytime soon, if ever.

He still remains good enough to play at the highest level but lacks the finesse of yesteryear as he has dropped pace.

The Al Nassr forward may well be able to score goals at the highest level, particularly against lower ranked nations but is bound to struggle when playing against higher ranked nations.

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Because the play used by Roberto Martinez’s side tends to revolve around their captain to a large degree, an off-song Ronaldo could impact the rhythm of the entire team which adds credibility to claims that the team would be able to be a more cohesive unit with him on the bench.

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2026 Fifa World Cup Al Nassr Cristiano Ronaldo News Portugal Roberto Martinez Wayne Rooney