Cristiano Ronaldo Ripped by Thierry Henry After Portugal's World Cup Draw vs. DR Congo

Many of the 2026 World Cup's biggest stars wasted no time making an impact with Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane all scoring goals in their first games, but Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo did not join the fun.

In fact, Ronaldo's play drew some criticism from Fox Sports' Thierry Henry following Portugal's 1-1 draw to Congo DR on Wednesday.

"One thing that is important, people at home, the team needs to score, not you need to score," Henry said (4:15 mark).

Henry then explained while breaking down one particular play that Ronaldo should have made a run further into the box so the defenders would have been put into a position where they needed to make a choice. That, in turn, could have opened up one of his teammates for a clear shot on goal.

Instead, Ronaldo largely stayed put and hit a shot out of bounds on a pass that was in between him and a teammate.

It was part of a performance to forget for the 41-year-old star:

While Ronaldo is one of the greatest players in soccer history, it is fair to question how far from his peak he is at this stage of his career. Playing well under the bright lights of the World Cup would be an ideal way to answer some of those questions.

Unfortunately for Ronaldo and Portugal, he didn't provide many satisfactory answers Wednesday in his first opportunity of the tournament.