Four years later, same debate for Portugal: Why is...

Rob DawsonJun 22, 2026, 03:07 AM ET

A squad predicted to accomplish big things, but with one huge question hanging over it: Not much has changed for Portugal between the 2022 and 2026 World Cups.

Cristiano Ronaldo's limp display in the 1-1 draw with Congo DR on Wednesday has thrown more fuel on the fiery debate about whether one of the world's greatest players should still be starting games at major tournaments at 41.

It's nothing new. The questions facing Portugal coach Roberto Martinez are the same ones that began to irk his predecessor, Fernando Santos, in Qatar four years ago. In the end, Santos dropped Ronaldo after the group games. So far, Martinez is sticking with him.

How we got here is a mystery to many Portugal fans. The 2022 World Cup was supposed to be the end of this. Ronaldo, then 37, looked off the pace, and though it was shocking when he was benched for knockout ties against Switzerland and Morocco, there was clear reasoning behind it.

Shortly after Qatar, Santos was replaced by Martinez, and Ronaldo departed Europe's top leagues for Saudi Arabia, signing for Al Nassr after a bitter falling-out with Manchester United. To most outsiders, it signaled the dawn of a new era for the Portugal team -- one without Ronaldo as its face. But the predicted changing of the guard never happened.

There was no emotional announcement from Ronaldo. Martinez continued to include him in squads, just as Santos had done. And so, four years after what many believed would be Ronaldo's last World Cup, we're back again. Same issues, same debate.

If anything, Martinez appears even firmer in his stance than Santos in 2022 that Ronaldo is still capable of starting games at this level. Ahead of the Qatar World Cup, Santos and his staff held a meeting in which the possibility of using Ronaldo as an impact substitute in certain games was discussed. Martinez -- at least from the outside -- doesn't appear to be thinking that way. He's also getting tired of the questions.

The Spanish coach is regarded as one of the nicest men in football, but repeated enquiries about Ronaldo's inclusion can sometimes dent his usual smiley demeanor. Asked about Ronaldo's ability to keep starting games ahead of Euro 2024, Martinez bit back with a question of his own.

"Do you know how many minutes Cristiano played for Al Nassr last season?" he asked.

When the reply came from the reporter that he had started every game, Martinez gave a wry smile. "You have answered your own question," he said.

Martinez is smart enough to know that every time he sits down for media interviews, he will be asked about Ronaldo. And more often than not, he's armed with numbers to defend his position.

"Having a player who has 25 goals in the last 30 games for the national team is a gift," Martinez said in February.

Ronaldo was the top scorer in the 2024-25 Nations League, which was won by Portugal, and scored in the semifinal against Germany and the final against Spain. His domestic numbers are impressive, too. Last season for Al Nassr, he scored 30 goals in 37 games. The season before, he had 35 goals in 41 games.

His detractors, however, will point to the relative weakness of the Saudi Pro League compared with Europe's top leagues as a way of playing down the achievement. On top of that, Ronaldo hasn't scored from open play at a major tournament since June 2021.

For Martinez, though, stats are stats. Pressed about why he kept Ronaldo on the pitch for so long against Congo DR, he again leaned on Ronaldo's record. "It makes no sense to take out the best goal scorer in world football in a game where you need goals," Martinez said.

To some Portugal supporters, Ronaldo can do no wrong. Others are so perplexed by Martinez's hardline position that they've become convinced that he's trying to keep Ronaldo onside because he's due to take over at Al Nassr after the World Cup.

Ronaldo had just 29 touches against Congo DR, three shots and none on target. He was criticized afterward by former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry after snatching at a chance when teammate Bruno Fernandes was in a better position.

"The team needs to score, not you need to score," Henry said, implying that Ronaldo was playing for himself rather than Portugal.

Paul Scholes, a former teammate of Ronaldo's at Manchester United, was even more dismissive. "I think there's only one position a 41-year-old player should start on the pitch," Scholes said. "And that's the goalkeeper."

Portugal's Dalot promises criticism won't faze Cristiano Ronaldo

The danger for Portugal -- blessed with perhaps the best midfield at the World Cup and considered genuine contenders to win it -- is that the Ronaldo debate becomes too big of a distraction. Most of the players on the team are used to it, although Martinez took special measures before the World Cup to make sure the squad was ready.

"When you have a squad like this, especially with a player like Cristiano, we have to be prepared, a little more than usual," full back Diogo Dalot said on Saturday.

"The fact that we had that pre-World Cup conversation to prepare ourselves for these moments meant that when it actually happened, we were able to send the message that the group is unshakable. We knew this was going to happen. One positive aspect I see in this is that it happened early. The sooner these difficulties arise, the sooner we put them behind us."

The truth, though, is that it won't go away until Ronaldo starts scoring, or at least proving beyond doubt that he's a help rather than a hindrance to a supremely talented group of players.

Portugal face Uzbekistan in Houston on Tuesday, with Ronaldo looking to end a run of 10 games without a goal at major tournaments. And if he struggles again, the noise around his starting spot will continue to grow.