Dias dismisses Thierry Henry's Ronaldo criticism as 'noise' ahead of Portugal's Uzbekistan test

Ruben Dias has moved to shield Cristiano Ronaldo from mounting criticism after Portugal were held to a 1-1 draw by DR Congo in their World Cup Group opener, insisting the squad is treating the backlash as nothing more than background noise ahead of Tuesday’s fixture against Uzbekistan.

The result was a sobering one for Portugal. Despite completing 740 passes against a Congo side making their first World Cup appearance in 52 years, Roberto Martínez’s team managed only a single shot on target. Ronaldo, 41, extended his goal drought in major tournaments to 10 games — a run dating back to the 2022 World Cup — despite remaining the competition’s all-time leading scorer.

The performance drew a sharp response from Thierry Henry, who suggested Ronaldo was putting personal ambition ahead of collective need. “One thing that’s important: the team needs to score, not you need to score,” the former France striker said in his analysis, adding that Ronaldo was obstructing teammates who were better placed to finish.

Dias, speaking at Portugal’s training camp on Friday, was unequivocal in his response. “The criticism is not significant for us, it’s noise and part of the competition,” he told reporters. “It always happens if you have a match that doesn’t go well. We’re closing ourselves off from unnecessary criticism.”

The Manchester City defender declined to single out Ronaldo for special treatment, instead framing his captain’s resilience as a product of long experience. “Cristiano, of course, is used to dealing with the media pressure we usually face in the club, the national team, world tournaments, European competitions,” Dias said.

Dias himself was an unused substitute against Congo as he managed his return from injury, but he declared himself fully fit and available to start against Uzbekistan. He anticipates a similarly compact defensive shape from their next opponents and believes his club experience equips him well for the challenge.

“I come from playing most of my club matches against teams that use a back five, so I have a very clear idea about it,” he said. “Respecting positional discipline becomes decisive in matches like these.”

Dias was measured but confident about Portugal’s broader prospects, acknowledging that tournament football rarely runs smoothly. “In this sort of competition, it will never be perfect,” he said. “This is a competition you can win only if you play well game after game.” He added that he trusted the squad’s quality to make the difference when it mattered, provided they maintained their positional structure and decision-making.