Portugal defender Ruben Dias, who also plays for Manchester City, came to the rescue of his teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, who continues to receive criticism for his performance in the team’s FIFA World Cup 2026 contest against DR Congo. The contest ended in a 1-1 draw, and Ronaldo wasn’t able to leave any sort of impression. To make matters worse, the 41-year-old wasn’t even able to have one shot on target. His performance was widely criticised, and former Arsenal and France player Thierry Henry asked Ronaldo to do more, saying the team “needs to score” and he doesn’t need to. “One thing that’s important, people, please, at home: The team needs to score, not you need to score,” Henry had said on FOX Sports.
However, Dias brushed aside the criticism ahead of the upcoming match against Uzbekistan, calling the chatter just “noise.”
“It’s not an issue for us,” Dias said when asked about criticism of Ronaldo,” Dias said.
“It’s insignificant — just a bit of fuss and noise. It’s all part of the game,” he added.
The Al Nassr forward had three shots against Congo in the FIFA World Cup 2026 match earlier this week, and all were off target. After the game, Henry criticised Ronaldo for selfish play during Portugal’s attacking opportunities.
Dias said that criticism of Ronaldo is nothing new, and all the noise is part and parcel of the game.
“First and foremost, the criticism isn’t directed at just one player. Cristiano is a major focus of attention, but I think we’re all in the firing line. Above all, apart from what I’ve just said, I don’t think anything out of the ordinary is happening. It’s always been like this since I’ve been here. I believe it will continue to be so in the future and, as such, it’s nothing new,” said Dias.
“In the end, it’s noise. We isolate ourselves from it and focus on doing our thing,” he added.
‘United’
The match between DR Congo and Portugal saw Ronaldo playing all 90 minutes, and Portugal manager Roberto Martinez said that it made no sense to substitute him. Dias also added that the team remains united and that chatter on social media has no impact.
“For all of us, it’s not an issue,” he said. “We’re all united in the realisation that difficulties are a good thing and that it’s through difficulties that we’ll see what we’re made of.
“We embrace it as an opportunity to create something positive. My mind doesn’t wander in that direction. I don’t pay attention when it’s thrown at us. I believe none of us attach any importance to it. It shouldn’t even be an issue.”
Recently, the social media accounts of players like Bruno Fernandes and Vitinha have been flooded with comments from fans demanding respect for Ronaldo. Some of the Portugal players are also being accused of not passing the ball enough to the celebrated striker.
“To be honest, I didn’t see much. I didn’t see any of what you’re talking about. There’s a lot of noise, speculation; it’s normal for speculation to triple when the results aren’t the best. But it doesn’t dent our confidence in the slightest,” said Dias.
“You never want this sort of competition to be perfect; I think the sooner the difficulties come, the better. You only win if the team has the ability to keep improving game after game. I don’t expect perfect scenarios. The most important thing is to keep our feet on the ground,” he added.
