The 41 years old Portuguese striker failed to deliver an impressive performance against a weaker side of DR Congo that debuted in 1974 in their first ever world cup edition, followed by a 52 year wait for playing their next world cup match.

Ronaldo had 25 touches throughout the match, third lowest among all the Portugal starters against DR Congo and managing to just take three shots at the goal, that too all, went off target. Ronaldo’s ineffectiveness as a striker is being judged in comparison with other big names like, Lionel Messi and Harry Kane. Both of the forwards scored a hattrick to comfortably lead their respective teams to victory.

This opened up room for questions and doubts as critics think that Ronaldo is not performing for Portugal and should be benched throughout the tournament to open up opportunities for youngsters and rising stars like Goncalo Ramos and Rafael Leao.

Robert Martinez tactical approach:

Portugal’s manager's tactical approach is all about trying out wide combinations to find a striker in middle to turn that in a goal scoring opportunity.

However, in second half's performance by Portugal against DR Congo hinted that Martinez needs to come up with different tricks and tactics if he wants to increase his team's chances of wining the world cup.