Why Does Cristiano Ronaldo Struggle at the FIFA World Cup?

Darwin, 19 June : Portugal stumbled at the very start of their World Cup campaign, drawing 1–1 with DR Congo, a team returning to the tournament after a 52-year absence. Despite taking an early lead, the Portuguese side failed to secure victory.

Cristiano Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes but looked far from his best. The Portuguese forward missed a golden scoring opportunity and failed to find the back of the net.

His disappointing performance has once again drawn criticism, as his goal drought in major international tournaments (the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championship) continues.

Even against a relatively unfancied side like DR Congo, the 41-year-old star was unable to end that drought. He has now gone 10 consecutive matches without scoring in a major tournament for Portugal.

Across those 10 matches, Ronaldo has taken 33 shots, with 11 on target. Ironically, he still holds the record for 229 international goals and 143 international appearances.

Although he enjoyed an impressive club season with Al Nassr, Ronaldo has struggled to reproduce that form for the national team. His last World Cup goal came in the 2022 tournament.

That goal was a penalty against Ghana in the group stage. Portugal reached the quarter-finals in Qatar, but Ronaldo scored only one goal in the entire tournament.

At UEFA Euro 2024, Portugal were eliminated in the quarter-finals, and Ronaldo failed to score a single goal.

His last goal from open play in a major tournament came at Euro 2020 against Germany, when he was 36 years old.

Ronaldo is now appearing in a record sixth World Cup. Across 23 World Cup matches, he has scored 8 goals and provided 2 assists, playing a total of 1,855 minutes.

He made his World Cup debut in 2006, when Portugal reached the semi-finals. However, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star scored only one goal in six matches.

At the 2010 World Cup, Portugal were eliminated in the Round of 16, while Ronaldo registered one goal and one assist in four matches.

In 2014, Portugal exited in the group stage, and Ronaldo scored one goal and one assist in three games.

At the 2018 World Cup, Portugal were knocked out in the Round of 16. Ronaldo scored four goals, including a memorable hat-trick against Spain.

In the 2022 World Cup, Portugal reached the quarter-finals, with Ronaldo scoring one goal in five matches. So far in the 2026 World Cup, he has played one match but is yet to open his account.

Notably, all eight of Ronaldo’s World Cup goals have come in the group stage.

During the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo was left out of the starting lineup for the Round of 16 match against Switzerland. It was his first major tournament match in 14 years without starting.

Interestingly, Portugal went on to record a 6–1 victory in that game.