Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal team-mates are ignoring any external “noise” following a lacklustre start to their World Cup campaign, according to defender Ruben Dias.
Portugal’s opening Group K match ended in a 1-1 draw with DRÂ Congo, with Joao Neves’ early header being cancelled out by Yoane Wissa late in the first half.
Portugal’s seven shots were their joint-fewest in any World Cup match in their history, having also had seven against South Korea in 2002.Â
Roberto Martinez’s side had just two shots by the hour mark, also their joint-fewest after 60 minutes of a World Cup match, along with that South Korea game in 2002.
And in the aftermath of the result, it was their captain and all-time leading goalscorer who received much of the criticism.
Ronaldo has now gone 10 consecutive games without scoring a goal at major tournaments for Portugal (World Cup/Euros), the longest run of his international career.Â
His last strike in either of the two competitions was against Ghana on matchday one of the 2022 World Cup, from the penalty spot. His last non-penalty goal in either competition was at Euro 2020, when he netted twice in a 2-2 group-stage draw with France.
The 41-year-old had just 25 touches against DR Congo, the fewest of any Selecao player to play the full 90 minutes. His three shots contributed 0.46 expected goals (xG) to Portugal’s overall tally of 0.65, but he missed the target with each of them.
Ronaldo also contested the joint-fewest duels of any Portugal starter, alongside centre-back Tomas Araujo (three, all of them aerial duels, winning two), and of his 21 passes, only seven were in the final third, even as DR Congo sat deep in a bid to frustrate Martinez’s side.
But Dias told reporters on Friday that nobody in the Portugal camp was fazed by the criticism they had received, saying: “The criticism is not significant for us; it’s noise and part of the competition.Â
“It’s all noise. It always happens if you have a match that doesn’t go well. We’re closing ourselves off from unnecessary criticism.
“Cristiano, of course, is used to dealing with the media pressure we usually face at our clubs, with the national team, at world tournaments and in European competitions.
“In this sort of competition, it will never be perfect. This is a competition you can win â only if you play well game after game.”
Portugal’s 724 completed passes on Wednesday were their most in any World Cup match, while Vitinha’s total of 121 was also the most by a Portugal player in a single game in the competition.
Yet, DR Congo, who are ranked 46th in the world, had more shots (eight) and put up a greater xG figure (0.87) than their opponents, who were among the pre-tournament favourites.
Portugal’s next game sees them face Uzbekistan on Tuesday, and anything less than a victory would leave them in an extremely difficult position ahead of taking on Colombia.
“I come from playing most of my club matches against teams that use a â back five, so I have a very clear idea about it,” Dias said about the prospect of Uzbekistan sitting deep.
“I believe we have players with enough quality that, by respecting our positions and making the right decisions, we can make the difference.”
The Opta supercomputer still assigns Portugal a 91.8% chance of progressing to the round of 32, but just a 40.9% hope of topping their group.Â
