Important or selfish? World Cup evidence mounts against Ronaldo

Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane all made blistering starts to the World Cup. And then there was Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez has a major decision to make over the 41-year-old following the 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday.

Ronaldo, who once vied with Messi for the unofficial title of best player on the planet, huffed and puffed his way through a match in which he was a peripheral figure up front.

His 25 touches were his fewest in a game at a major tournament for Portugal when playing the full match.

The contrast with Messi was stark, the 38-year-old having hit a hat-trick a day earlier to give defending champions Argentina a 3-0 win over Algeria.

With Portugal searching for a winner in Houston, Martinez elected to keep the veteran captain on the field throughout even though he never seriously looked like scoring.

A draw against the African side, appearing in their first World Cup since 1974 when the country was known as Zaire, was a stuttering start for a team rated as outside title contenders in North America.