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Ronaldo's sister concedes he and Portugal fell well short in World Cup opener

Katia Aveiro broke ranks on Instagram to admit that Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal team-mates all underperformed in their 1-1 draw against DR Congo in Houston on Wednesday, as Ronaldo's scoreless run at major tournaments stretched to 10 games.

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Ronaldo's sister concedes he and Portugal fell well short in World Cup opener
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Cristiano Ronaldo is facing criticism from an unlikely source after Portugal were held to a 1-1 draw by DR Congo in their World Cup 2026 opener in Houston on Wednesday — his own sister, Katia Aveiro, publicly admitting that neither he nor his team-mates met expectations.

Ronaldo, 41, played the full 90 minutes for Roberto Martinez’s side but squandered two clear second-half chances as Portugal pushed for a winner they never found. The result extended his scoreless run at major tournaments to 10 consecutive games, a stretch that has seen him attempt 33 shots without scoring for his country.

Portugal had taken an early lead through Joao Neves’ flicked header, but were pegged back just before half-time when Newcastle United forward Yoane Wissa headed home DR Congo’s first-ever World Cup goal.

The post-match inquest was swift and pointed. Thierry Henry, appearing as a pundit after the match, suggested Ronaldo was prioritising personal glory over the team’s needs. “The team needs to score, it’s not you who needs to score,” the former Arsenal striker said.

Aveiro, who is based in Brazil, took to Instagram to offer her own assessment. “Obviously as a fan of my country, I was disappointed. We didn’t play well, nobody played well,” she wrote. “They magically forgot how to pass the ball, how to win the ball, how to counter-attack. This World Cup is strange. But as I’ve always heard: ‘Bad beginnings, good endings’. Let’s think positively.”

She was careful to spread the blame across the entire squad rather than single out her brother. “Nobody played well in my humble opinion,” she added, before striking a more philosophical note. “Am I sad? How can I be sad? I get sad when I see that image of Diogo Jota’s mother and father — that’s what sadness is. It would be selfish of me to feel sad because of the disappointment of our draw in the World Cup opener.”

Portugal will look to recover when they face Uzbekistan in Houston on Tuesday in their second Group stage match.

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