The clock was about to hit 83 minutes when Roberto Martínez rolled the dice one last time. His team certainly needed extra movement up front so it hardly confounded logic that Gonçalo Ramos was stripped and ready. What made less sense was that Vitinha departed while Cristiano Ronaldo, peripheral save for two earlier half-chances, remained on and slogged his way towards the end of a draw that could check Portugal’s summer ambitions.
Ronaldo’s baying followers, swathes of them with local accents and wearing his No 7 shirt, had done their best to cajole a meaningful contribution from their idol but ultimately they had to settle for being under the same roof. Perhaps they expected a repeat of Lionel Messi’s staggering performance the previous night but Ronaldo did little to assuage concerns that his presence, once glorious, is nowadays a dead weight. The watching Gianni Infantino could have been forgiven for wondering whether Fifa’s contortions in freeing him from suspension for this game had been worthwhile.
Ultimately the only players worthy of particular praise were those representing the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their own veteran centre-forward, Cédric Bakambu, showed Ronaldo the way with a tireless performance and twice had opportunities to deepen Portuguese discomfort. Yoane Wissa put in an exceptional shift of his own and Martínez’s side rarely looked like responding to his equaliser, a well-taken header seconds before half-time.
“We gave everything and we are delighted,” said the DRC’s manager Sébastien Desabre. He had dealt with a challenging buildup, his squad and staff spending three weeks in Belgium observing a quarantine due to the Ebola outbreak back home. There was little travelling support for the same reason but the loud pockets who made it, mostly expats based locally, were ecstatic at witnessing their country’s first World Cup point.
“There was not enough blue in the stands but our players are tough,” Desabre said. They had to show it after João Neves, rising in front of Axel Tuanzebe to nod in Pedro Neto’s cross, scored in the sixth minute. It pleased a crowd who had roared almost as loudly to greet Ronaldo’s first contribution, a sideways pass to João Cancelo. But Portugal never kicked on, a last-ditch intervention by Aaron Wan-Bissaka on a bursting Nuno Mendes the only real moment when the DRC risked being stretched to breaking point.
Martínez was frustrated that Portugal, controlled but lacking tempo, failed to turn the screw. Their centre-forward’s lack of involvement was glaring but the head coach had his reasons ready. “After the first goal we didn’t make it to the final third to the level we required to help the leading attacker and utilise those moments on the pitch,” he said.
The introduction of Francisco Conceição for a disappointing Bernardo Silva brought penetration down the right and Ronaldo stabbed two of his centres wide of the near post either side of the second-half drinks break.Neither miss was particularly glaring, the first coming with the ball just behind him and the second under heavy defensive pressure, but perhaps a player in his pomp would have adjusted his feet more swiftly.
By then Portugal had been pegged back, their disquiet noticeable after Wissa’s strike. “The goal changed things,” Martínez said. “Instead of going and killing the game we almost felt the fear of not losing.” They looked loose and skittish, Bakambu forcing Diogo Costa to save and spooning over on the counter as spaces opened up for the underdogs.
An experienced DRC side, sprinkled with Premier League nous, were no mugs whatsoever. After falling behind they had dug in and stayed competitive; it was a far cry from the disastrous defensive showing their countrymen of 1974, then under the name Zaire, put in during their previous appearance at this level. As the interval neared a shot from Samuel Moutoussamy, tireless in midfield, brought two corners; the second was played short to Arthur Masuaku, whose inswinging delivery was powered in by an unmarked Wissa.
Ronaldo and Costa engaged in a lengthy conflab afterwards; it was unclear which of the pair felt moved to instigate the discussion and little improvement followed. Martínez pointed out afterwards that Argentina had lost to Saudi Arabia in 2022 before charging to glory; this was a less troubling result but Portugal must pick up the pace and reduce their reliance on seeking Ronaldo via the flanks.
Can they really go all the way with Ronaldo occupying space for games on end? The jeopardy introduced by falling short here may, conversely, lessen the temptation to give him a rest. “The next game is in six days,” Martínez said, perhaps thanking his lucky stars that it is against Uzbekistan. “We don’t treat Cristiano for his age, we treat him according to his symptoms and how he feels.” His public could have been excused sensing they had been short-changed.
