The reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo was not substituted despite his poor performance in Portugal's 1-1 draw with DR Congo in the 2026 World Cup match.
Chris Sutton, a former famous striker turned football analyst, said Portugal national team manager Roberto Martinez was shameful for not daring to substitute Cristiano Ronaldo despite his poor performance in the 1-1 draw against DR Congo in the opening match of Group K in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Ronaldo, playing in his sixth World Cup, was hardly involved in the game, but Martinez chose not to replace his star player. Sutton criticized Martinez as being "afraid" to take Ronaldo off the field.
"That is shameful," Sutton said when Gonzalo Ramos was brought on in the 83rd minute to replace midfielder Vitinha instead of Ronaldo. "That is shameful for Roberto Martinez."
"Are we watching a different game than Martinez? He must be afraid to substitute Ronaldo. Ronaldo is not the manager," he added.
"He is a great player, yes, but Martinez needs to be brave as a manager. That is their problem."
Meanwhile, Wayne Rooney, former England captain and former teammate of Ronaldo at Manchester United, criticized Portugal's overall performance in the opening match.
"The first group stage match is very important, and for Portugal to play like this, you want to see more energy. I want to see players with more power. I want players to look beyond Ronaldo. I think Portugal played very poorly."