Portugal’s final friendly before the World Cup ended with the result Roberto Martinez wanted, but not the reassurance Cristiano Ronaldo needed.
Portugal beat Nigeria 2-1 last Wednesday, with Ronaldo named in the starting XI and playing for 65 minutes. The win still left a sharper question around whether the 41-year-old should remain central to Portugal’s attack.
Ronaldo had four shots, missed three big chances and lost possession four times, despite completing 17 of his 18 attempted passes.
After another difficult outing following the Chile friendly, the reaction quickly turned on him.
Cristiano Ronaldo criticised by fans after struggling against Nigeria
The frustration was not just about Ronaldo failing to score. It was the nature of the misses and the reminder that Portugal benched him in the knockout stage of the 2022 World Cup.
One soccer fan wrote: “Hate watching just isn’t fun when he’s this washed. It’d be like laughing at an old man who can’t cross the street.”
Another added: “This performance screams ‘leave the football before the football lives you.’”
“Ronaldo is gonna make the quote ‘leave the football before the football leave you’ a generational quote,” a third said.
Another post read: “Yesterday’s performance from Cristiano Ronaldo was a painful watch. For a player constantly placed in the GOAT conversation, games like this raise serious questions.”
The concern for Martinez is that this is no longer just social media noise. Ronaldo’s status remains enormous, but Portugal already showed in 2022 that they can move away from him when the stakes rise.
If the Nigeria and Chile performances become part of a pattern, it would not be a shock if that script returns at this year’s World Cup.
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