The former Arsenal legend and analyst Thierry Henry has criticised Cristiano Ronaldo for one of his attempts in the attacking third. The reason for the criticism came in the second half of the game when Francisco Conceição played a ball through a cut back to Bruno Fernandes but something odd happened. Cristiano Ronaldo was positioned near the goal post but seeing the ball coming behind him, he moved back and took on the shot by himself and missed. The problem came into light as Bruno Fernandes was in position to take the shot and had Cristiano Ronaldo moved out of his way, it would have been the simplest of finishes for the midfielder.

“The team needs to score, not you need to score. ... Because he wants to score he goes into the path of Bruno Fernandes. If he goes into that six yard box it would have been a tap in for Bruno Fernandes,” stated Thierry Henry on Cristiano Ronaldo after the game. It was a clear mishap between the players and it was better if the Portuguese attacker could have just moved out of the way. Fans may argue that it was a striker’s instinct to get to the ball and take a shot while the others would criticise the spatial awareness of one of the living legends of the game.

DR Congo's defensive resilience prevailed against Portugal

It indeed was a frustrating game for Portugal as they couldn’t simply find a way to score after the opening goal from the head of Joao Neves. Despite boasting the best midfield in the tournament, they weren’t able to create many chances except the first goal. Cristiano Ronaldo was nowhere to be seen in the game as he couldn’t make a visible impact. There was a short moment of happiness for Portugal when Joao Cancelo found the back of the net but it was deemed to be offside. This was a shocking result for Portugal as they were considered as one of the favourites to go all the way but it was disappointing that they couldn’t secure the 3 points against DR Congo.

Meanwhile DR Congo had an intention to attack only when they conceded a goal and they were able to drop back defensively, the moment they levelled. Yoanne Wissa scored a free header into the back of the net and that was their first goal in the FIFA World Cup. The African side started with a back five and they had all their players drop into their half for support. It was another replica of the performance that Cape Verde pulled off against Spain, with the only difference being the goal scored between the sides. DR Congo were extremely pleased with the result as they managed to keep a star studded Portugal side led by the great Cristiano Ronaldo silent in their opening game.

As Portugal move forward in the Group Stage, they will be hoping to draw better results from the tournament. The criticism from Thierry Henry was the right analytical call and the team first mentality will need some encouragement from the staff and personnel. Portugal still remains one of the feared sides in the tournament and it will be interesting to see how they will bounce back from this early setback.