Prateek Tanmay
3 min readUpdated: Jun 20, 2026 03:24 PM IST
Cristiano Ronaldo had something to say to journalists at Portugal’s training session in Palm Beach Gardens on Friday. He just didn’t use words.
During the first hydration break in training, the captain turned towards the media stand and, according to Portuguese reports, gestured with his arms and hands for them to leave. The open period had reached its time limit. The message was clear enough.
It was a small moment. But small moments accumulate when a team has just drawn 1-1 with DR Congo and their captain played 90 minutes without a shot on target.
A Bola’s front page on Friday did not need much elaboration. “Capitão debaixo de fogo.” Captain under fire. CR7 criticised from all directions, the paper said, but the team does not escape either. History warns Martínez that change is needed to win.
It was Ronaldo’s fifth consecutive World Cup match without a goal. CNN Portugal argued he should no longer be the automatic first choice, pointing to his significantly reduced ability to press and put pressure on the opposing defence.
A Bola also carried Kevin-Prince Boateng’s suggestion that Ronaldo should give up his place in the starting eleven entirely and be used only in the final minutes.
The international press was harsher still. The Independent called him “ten men and a statue”, writing that Portugal had sacrificed “yet another World Cup to Cristiano Ronaldo’s ego” and that he lacked the pace to attack space behind defenders and the movement to escape marking. The Telegraph drew the comparison nobody in the Portugal camp wanted: “The day after Lionel Messi showed why he remains in the Argentina squad, Portugal were perhaps given a reminder of why Cristiano Ronaldo should not be in theirs.”
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At training, behind the closed session, there was at least one piece of good news. Rúben Dias, who missed the opener through injury, trained fully integrated and without limitations and could make his World Cup debut against Uzbekistan on Tuesday. The concern is Tomás Araújo, who started in his place against DR Congo. The Benfica defender worked apart from the group and did only recovery work in the 15-minute open session, in 32-degree heat.
Portugal are third in Group K on one point. Colombia lead on three. Uzbekistan, in their first World Cup, are below them on zero.
