Ronaldo trolled heavily on social media after lacklustre display in Portugal's World Cup opener: 'Man has lost it'

From Lionel Messi producing a hat-trick to Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane collecting a brace each, some of the biggest names in the world of football have begun their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a bang. Thus when Cristiano Ronaldo failed to make an impact in Portugal's tournament opener against DR Congo in Houston on Wednesday, it came as something of a shock for many a football fan across the world.

Not only did Ronaldo fail to score a single goal against the central African nation, missing multiple goal-scoring opportunities, he was also accused of being selfish on the pitch and by trying to claim all the glory for himself when passing the ball to his teammates would have boosted Portugal's chances of boosting their lead.

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France and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry was among those who slammed the Portuguese superstar on this very point during a post-game analysis on Fox after Portugal played out a 1-1 draw with DR Congo, in which Joao Neves put Roberto Martinez's side in the lead in the sixth minute.

"One thing that's important, people, please at home, the team needs to score. Not YOU needs to score," the 1998 World Cup winner said.

"Because HE wants to score, he goes in the path of the back pass, you see both players, and it's easier for you to defend. And that's my thing: The team needs to score. Not you," he added.

How social media reacted to Ronaldo's underwhelming display against Congo

His performance also led to a deluge of strong reactions and memes from fans on social media. Here are select posts trolling the Real Madrid and Manchester United icon:

'CR7' is believed to be making his final appearance for Portugal in the ongoing World Cup, and his fans are hoping that the 41-year-old finally fulfills his dream of lifting the most coveted trophy in the sport later this summer.

However, if his lacklustre performance on Wednesday is anything to go by, fulfilling that dream might turn out to be more difficult than expected.