A small revolution! Cristiano Ronaldo is not among the team that Portuguese fans would like to see start against Uzbekistan. In a poll dedicated to the ideal starting eleven for this match, the name of the Portuguese captain, criticized after the first match, does not appear among the authors chosen by the readers. The
A deliberate choice made before an important meeting
The poll focused on the team fans would like to see fielded against Uzbekistan. When selecting their starting eleven, voters left out the Portuguese number 7. In this pre-match projection, Cristiano Ronaldo is clearly excluded from the starting lineup.
The same verdict applies to the starting eleven selected by journalists.
The observation is even more striking because it doesn't just concern the fans. The journalists tasked with selecting their own starting eleven for this match also left Cristiano Ronaldo out of the lineup. In other words, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is absent from both the readers' and editorial team's chosen starting elevens. Ronaldo is therefore no longer considered a starter in either of these projections.
CR7 heavily criticized
As a reminder, criticism of Ronaldo intensified after the first World Cup match, which ended in a 1-1 draw against DR Congo. Portugal appeared sterile despite their apparent dominance. The Seleção largely held possession, strung together numerous passes, and controlled the tempo, but never managed to translate this control into a genuine attacking threat. All this against an opponent considered well within their reach.
Portugal managed only one shot on target, João Neves' goal, and even allowed DR Congo to finish with more shots, fostering a sense of failure that went far beyond the result itself. Cristiano Ronaldo, who started and played the entire match, bore the brunt of the criticism: his performance was deemed lackluster, his influence too limited, his missed opportunities highlighted, and his position at the heart of the attack reignited the debate about his ability to continue leading the team to the highest level.
