Ronaldo's lonely shadow

When the match between Portugal, a strong contender for the 2026 World Cup, and the much weaker Democratic Republic of Congo ended around 3 p.m., Cristiano Ronaldo trudged across the pitch. His shadow stretched long on the NRG Stadium field in Houston, Texas, USA. A sorrowful shadow.

The young man of yesteryear is now 41 years old. The Portuguese superstar continues to chase records: becoming the first player to score in six World Cups, reaching 1,000 career goals, and most importantly, his first World Cup trophy.

The fault is not entirely CR7's own. Responsibility also lies with the person who has long indulged him: coach Roberto Martínez. As long as he continues to be given starting opportunities and treated like the number one star, he has reason to believe he can still do it.

If you walk into a stadium packed with spectators, many of whom came just to see you play, and someone holds up a sign that reads: "Whether you win the World Cup or not, you will always be my GOAT," then you might also think you are still worth watching.

It's hard to let go. Especially when there is always another milestone to conquer, another tournament to enter, and a 1,000-goal career target to aim for. It's even harder when your peers or long-time rivals are still playing and shining bright.

But Cristiano Ronaldo can no longer compete at the highest level. In over an hour of the 1-1 draw with DR Congo, Ronaldo essentially did nothing. It's not that he did things poorly; rather, he did nothing at all.

He was like a void on the pitch. He stood there like "a statue," as sarcastically put by a British newspaper. No horrible missed shot, no blameworthy misplaced pass, no major defensive error. Nothing at all!

After the break, he had two almost identical shots. Both were runs to meet a cutback from the byline, and Ronaldo's shots went wide of the near post.

Neither of those chances were sitters that were impossible to miss. Especially the first one, where the pass came slightly behind him, making it very difficult to direct the ball towards goal.

In the second situation, many would criticize CR7 for not laying the ball off for Bruno Fernandes to shoot. But with his instinct, the inherent selfishness of a striker, and his thirst for goals, Ronaldo would never have passed in that moment.

After those two chances, he disappeared from the match again, invisible. There was a cross from the right side heading towards Ronaldo at the far post. He didn't even bother to jump! CR7 barely participated in the game anymore.

As Wayne Rooney remarked on BBC: "Most of the game, he just stood in an offside position."

After the match, DR Congo midfielder Ngal'ayel Mukau said: "We knew he's not the same as before, so we understood he would move less. We thought maybe he would show a bit more. But he's old anyway. It was an honor to face Ronaldo."

After the match, coach Roberto Martinez firmly defended his decision to use Ronaldo for the full 90 minutes: "It wouldn't make sense to take off the greatest goalscorer in football history in a match where we needed a goal."

Inadvertently, the Belgian coach touched on the most important keyword: history. Ronaldo is already in the past!

This was the 10th consecutive match in a major tournament where CR7 failed to score. If Martinez kept Ronaldo as a spiritual symbol, someone who commands respect from teammates, inspires, or as an "emergency option" brought on in the final minutes to make a difference, or even just to take penalties—like Carlo Ancelotti used Neymar for Brazil—it would be understandable. Instead, he let a 41-year-old player just walk around the pitch for the entire match.

Erling Haaland scored a brace. Kylian Mbappe did too. And of course, there was the figure always hovering ahead of him—the other half of the greatest individual rivalry in football history: Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick for Argentina.

After the final whistle, Ronaldo quietly walked down the tunnel, avoiding all eyes, separating himself from his teammates who were acknowledging the fans. Lonely like his own shadow!