Ronaldo failed to score in his sixth World Cup opener as Portugal drew 1–1 with Congo. Ronaldo is goalless in his last 10 major tournament matches. 98 players of French origin are also included in this World Cup.
Houston: Football legend Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, could not score a goal in his sixth and probably last World Cup opener. The result was that the Portuguese team ended in a 1-1 draw against Congo. On one hand, while big players like Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Vinicius Jr. and Christian Pulisic opened their account by scoring a goal in their very first match of this World Cup, Ronaldo looked lackluster.
In the sixth minute of the match, Jao Nevis gave Portugal the lead by scoring a goal. Portugal hoped to end the first half with a 1-0 lead, but they were dealt a blow in the 45+5th minute. Yovane Visa for Congo brought the team on par by scoring a brilliant goal.
Portugal failed to score a goal in the second half. Ronaldo got good chances to score in the 68th and 73rd minutes, but he could not put the ball in the goal post. However, Portugal’s defenders also did a good job and did not give Congo a chance to score a second goal, thereby saving the team from defeat.
After the match, Congolese midfielder Égale Aile Mukou, who is 20 years younger than Ronaldo, said, ‘We knew that Ronaldo is no longer as dangerous as before. He now runs less and works less hard than before. So it became easier for our defenders to control them.
No goals since 10 matches
Cristiano Ronaldo has not scored a single goal for Portugal in the last 10 matches of the World Cup and Euro Cup. Ronaldo has no goals in his name in 4 matches of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, 5 matches of the 2024 Euro Cup and now even in this opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
France has 98 players in the FIFA World Cup!
New York: 98 players born in France are participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Out of the total 1248 players included in the World Cup, 98 are playing for different teams, but they were born in France. It is a special thing that about 8% of the total players of the World Cup are from France. 67 players born in Netherlands and 50 players born in Germany are also part of this World Cup.