Portugal held 1–1 by DR Congo as Ronaldo comes under fire

Portugal stumble out of the gate, 1–1 with DR Congo

A flat start. Portugal 1–1 DR Congo in the Group C opener on Wednesday night in Houston (1) (3) (10). The goal came early, and the performance came apart after it. Fans expected a statement. Your team delivered a caution sign instead.

Martínez: early goal backfired

Roberto Martínez did not hide from it. "The hardest thing is starting well, and we started very well, controlled, reached their box, scored," he said after the match. "But the emotion of scoring had the opposite effect. We tried just to keep the ball, we lost depth, we stopped arriving in the box, DR Congo set up counter-attacks and made it very complicated for us" (4). João Neves and Francisco Conceição were among those who could not turn the tide.

Ronaldo under fire from all sides

Cristiano Ronaldo is the story this morning and not in the way anyone wanted. Thierry Henry was blunt in his criticism on French television, calling the performance nowhere near the standard (5) (7). Dutch pundits on ESPN's WK Praat went further, labelling Ronaldo Portugal's biggest problem and questioning whether he is playing for himself rather than the team (12).

Congo had no special plan for Ronaldo

The line that stings most comes from the DR Congo dressing room. Midfielder Ngal'ayel Mukau said his team did not prepare a specific plan to contain Ronaldo. The reason: "He is not the same anymore" (6). That is not an opponent firing a warning shot. It is an opponent saying the threat has faded.

Scotland up next, margin for error gone

Scotland won their Group C opener. That means Portugal already trail in the group and face a match that demands a response. The World Cup does not wait, and neither will Scottish intensity. Your team needs the version of itself that Martínez described in the first 20 minutes, not the one that followed.