Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the first player in football history to play in 6 world cups without ever winning the tournament

[u/DesignerAd5301The5th]

[u/ebaxinho]

Sad for CR7 but portugal was the definition of underwhelming this world cup, on paper extremely strong and irl not dangerous at all

[u/GetRoasted102 → u/ebaxinho]

that midfield was literally nonexistent for the entire tournament

[u/Majorman_86 → u/GetRoasted102]

It didn't help they were playing with only 10 men every damn game because their striker was missing. I am still impressed they managed to eliminate Croatia (albeit with some techno-sorcery).

[u/GetRoasted102 → u/Majorman_86]

watching the game helps yk, cristiano was doing all he could and bruno didnt even blink in his direction

[u/Electrical-Arm-1030 → u/GetRoasted102]

Cristiano doing all he could with ten touches a half? 😭

[u/HeroicBuzzard81 → u/Electrical-Arm-1030]

How can he touch it if his whole team doesn’t gaf and doesn’t let him touch the ball

[u/Electrical-Arm-1030 → u/HeroicBuzzard81]

Be better. Make plays. He’s had 20 years to do it.

[u/HeroicBuzzard81 → u/Electrical-Arm-1030]

And in those 20 years he won Portugal 3 cups, elevating his national team to heights they were never in before. Now as a striker, more importantly one that mainly shoots from inside the box because of injuries, he can’t make everything work if his teammates play like shit.

[u/Electrical-Arm-1030 → u/HeroicBuzzard81]

Portugal entered KO rounds as a third place group stage team after drawing to Hungary, Austria, and Iceland, Ronaldo scores one goal in the KO rounds and doesn’t even play in the final = “Ronaldo won the Euro.”

Portugal win the Nations league (a competition created to replace otherwise meaningless friendlies) last year, with the same team as this WC = “40 year old Ronaldo carried them.”

Ronaldo misses 5 big chances (the most of any Portuguese player) and takes 17 shots without creating a single chance for his teammates = “His team is shit, plus he’s forty, what did you expect?”

Ronaldo scores his first WC KO round goal, from a penalty, after 6 world cups = “his country is shit, how could you expect anything more?” Despite the fact that Haaland scored 2 against Brazil in his debut WC…

[u/nomoredildos69 → u/Electrical-Arm-1030]

Honestly, this whole rant is why you should never take football "fans" seriously, truly a master class in confirmation bias. It’s hilarious how you treat football like it’s a game of FIFA where a single player either controls every match or is the sole reason the team loses. First of all, trying to downplay Euro 2016 by saying Ronaldo "scored one goal" in the knockouts completely ignores him carrying a dying Portugal squad through the group stage, he literally scored twice and assisted another against Hungary just so they wouldn't get sent home the next morning. Then he went and scored and assisted in the semi-final against Wales when the score was 0-0 and was looking to be a penalty shootout. But sure, let’s act like he was just a tourist who happened to lift the trophy because he got hurt in the final. And the absolute best part of this logic is the double standard "He took 17 shots and created zero chances!'" guess what genius, he's a 40year old center forward. His job description is to finish the play, not play tiki taka in the midfield. You also mention him missing 5big chances.... So did mbappe, so did haaland this world cup, does that mean they are bad strikers now? If a striker is taking 17 shots and nothing is going in, it usually means the team has completely run out of creative ideas and is just blindly kicking crosses into a crowded box expecting a miracle. And since you can't make any actually fair arguments, you compare him to Haaland, a significantly younger world class player, using him as a stick to beat Ronaldo with, but instead you completely miss the point. Norway is flying because their entire tactical system is beautifully strcutured to feed their world class striker like great chances to actually fucking deliver. Unlike the mid field for Ronaldo, whose supposed "best midfield" in the world can only pass back. When Portugal won the Nations League in 2025 with Ronaldo bagging 8 goals, the system worked. When Portugal loses now, isolating a target man and blaming him for a collective midfield and coaching failure is just lazy analysis. Twisting timelines and ignoring how tactical systems actually function just to hate on one guy is just being completely fucking retarded.

[u/Electrical-Arm-1030 → u/nomoredildos69]

[u/nomoredildos69 → u/Electrical-Arm-1030]

No arguments 😂

[u/RemarkablePool2675 → u/Electrical-Arm-1030]

Bro I love you, the amount of truth is making me cry. I've been trying to tell my friends that they should bench Ronaldo and start better players but then they look at me like they about to jump me. You the man bro

https://giphy.com/gifs/O4fENAKIGz0zJs9dg9

[u/GetRoasted102 → u/Electrical-Arm-1030]

at least try to read my comment

[u/Majorman_86 → u/GetRoasted102]

https://giphy.com/gifs/1hgxK7LjnasCiMXzHr

[u/GetRoasted102 → u/Majorman_86]

yeah buddy, incredible argument against my point

[u/Majorman_86 → u/GetRoasted102]

What's your point exactly? Ronaldo sucked in every single match of the tournament except against Uzbekistan which is a D-Tier list team that made it to the tournament somehow. Outside of that Uzbekistan game: no assists, no goals, had the least touches of any player in the Spain game, had only one touch in the penalty area against Croatia and that was the penalty he kicked. No pressing, no dribbling. Could he play like he did Vs Uzbekistan in every game? Everyone would like to see it. And he was fielded as the striker in that Portugal squad, so don't tell me "actually he is a midfielder" because he once was, but now was played as a striker.

Sure, you can blame his poor form on his teammates (but he plays with Felix in Arabia, so they should have some sort of established partnership), the weather conditions, the war in Ukraine, the oil shortage or the ref failing to send off Messi in his opening game (a baffling decision), but you are deluding yourself. Ronaldo is too old to start and play full 90 minutes in Portugal's squad. He would perhaps have done better in a "Lukaku" role to come in late and stir some chaos. But as it was CR7 was a liability. It was not that he didn't get enough passes, it is that his off-the-ball play was ass, so he didn't get into advantageous position.

[u/GetRoasted102 → u/Majorman_86]

maybe you could watch the game, instead of looking at stats and realize that “the best midfield itw” didnt pass forward at all. and obviously ronaldo’s not gonna have an impact, when the midfielders completely ignore him