Martinez slammed as 'scared' to drop Ronaldo after Portugal's 1-1 World Cup draw with DR Congo

Roberto Martinez was branded “embarrassing” and accused of being too afraid to substitute Cristiano Ronaldo as Portugal were held to a 1-1 draw by DR Congo in their World Cup opener at Houston on Saturday. Ronaldo, 41 and appearing at his sixth World Cup, cut a peripheral figure throughout and has now gone ten consecutive major tournament games without scoring.

The flashpoint came in the 83rd minute when Martinez brought on striker Goncalo Ramos — but replaced midfielder Vitinha rather than Ronaldo. BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Chris Sutton was withering in his assessment.

“That is embarrassing for Roberto Martinez,” Sutton said. “Are we all watching a different game to Martinez? He is scared to take him off. He is not the manager. He might score the winner, but the game has passed him by.”

Sutton went further, arguing that Ronaldo’s role in the team has fundamentally changed. “He is a brilliant player. He was once the playmaker, but now he is the poacher. He is not only the poacher, but he runs the estate. Martinez has to be brave enough to be the manager. He is not the manager of the Portugal team and that is their issue.”

Wayne Rooney, a former Manchester United teammate of Ronaldo and ex-England captain, was equally critical of Portugal’s collective display. “The first game of the group is so important and for Portugal to perform the way they have performed, you want to see more energy,” he said. “I want to see more legs in the team. I want to see players run past Cristiano Ronaldo at times. I think it was a poor performance from Portugal.”

Ronaldo, who holds 229 caps and 143 international goals, is chasing history this summer — a goal would make him the first player ever to score at six separate World Cups. That milestone now hinges on Portugal’s next group game against Uzbekistan on Tuesday.