Cristiano Ronaldo Has Another Nightmare, but Portugal Teammates Have to Help Him

Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty against Austria in Paris on Saturday evening, and there were laughs at his misfortune heard all over France and indeed the world.

This is the harsh reality of being Ronaldo, of being the face, the brand and the icon. When things go wrong, you can expect a certain amount of schadenfreude, with his comments following Portugal’s opening match of this tournament against Iceland adding fuel to that particular fire.

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Ronaldo had left the field with a contorted, pained expression against the Icelanders, but here it was different. Here it was exasperation following the goalless draw.

He had a poor game in Saint-Etienne on Tuesday. He knew that. But he was right in the thick of the action here, sending a first-half effort wide of Robert Almer’s right-hand post before, in the second period, driving a remarkably powerful left-footed effort toward goal that Almer pushed away. From the resultant corner, his header was again saved by the Austria Vienna stopper.

But then came the 79th-minute chance at a breakthrough that he alone was looking for.

Martin Hinteregger—presumably out of options when it came to stopping him having efforts on goal—bundled Ronaldo to the ground. From the instant the Portugal captain reached the ball, everyone knew what was coming next.

Ronaldo had played well, so this shouldn’t have been billed as a chance for redemption but instead validation for his efforts. In the end, it was neither.

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The thud from his effort bouncing back off the post was still audible when Twitter went into overdrive. Supporters from all nations enjoyed his misfortune, and Portugal’s fans were left wondering why their leader had let them down. Moments later, Ronaldo finally had the ball in the net, but he was rightly ruled offside.

And so that was that. Ronaldo was the story and the target for criticism despite being the only player on either side who came close to breaking the deadlock. Again and again and again.

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Austria deserve credit for the way they marshalled him, Hinteregger especially, but they don’t deserve credit for much else. A team that came to France with praise ringing in their ears, and with plenty citing them as an outside bet to go far, have done little to impress. But the same can be said of Portugal.

This result—a second successive draw that shifts huge pressure onto the meeting with Hungary in Lyon on Wednesday—wasn’t down to Ronaldo’s failings but rather the failings of those around him to do anything other than look at their captain and hope for the best.

The pre-tournament friendlies showed what an exciting, attacking unit this Portugal team can be, but in France, they have just reverted to “give it to Ronaldo” mode.

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Nani, a player who has specialised in such a mode for much of his career, may have scored Portugal’s only goal of the tournament thus far, but he’s spent the rest of it either falling to the floor or buzzing around with little to no effect. Ricardo Quaresma, for all the pre-tournament hype about a return to form, has struggled against massed ranks of defence.

Some of Fernando Santos’ younger talents, such as Joao Mario and Rafa Silva, haven’t been given the time needed to impress, while there was widespread frustration at the manager’s decision not to turn to the 18-year-old Renato Sanches from the bench to try and break Austria down.

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This Portugal side needs some non-Ronaldo drive, dynamism and players having a willingness to do things for themselves, and they might just be able to find that in the teenager who has just signed for Bayern Munich in a multimillion-pound deal.

Youngsters tend not to think too much in situations such as these, instead letting their feet do the talking. Ronaldo was once like that, and he would undoubtedly be the grateful recipient of any help that came his way right now. Sanches should come into contention to start the next game just to take some of the heat off his captain.

He wasn’t interested in stopping or shaking hands with Austria’s players as he left the field in the Parc des Princes—as was the case against Iceland in Saint-Etienne.

But he’s not angry with those opposition players, as he’ll know they are only doing their job.

It is his team-mates he needs to look in the eye, rally and motivate for the battle ahead against Hungary.

He needs them to help him more than they are doing, and they need to look at themselves and wonder just where they’d be without him.