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Cristiano Ronaldo’s Goal Drought Continues After Failing to Score in Portugal’s 2026 FIFA World Cup Opener
Unlike several of football’s biggest stars, the Portuguese icon failed to find the net in his tournament debut, adding even more pressure to deliver for Portugal.
While Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland all delivered standout performances for their national teams in their opening matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo was unable to find the net, extending a troubling scoring drought and increasing the spotlight on Portugal’s captain.
BLANK AGAIN
Despite being entrusted by Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez with a place in the starting lineup—allowing him to join Lionel Messi as the only players to appear in six FIFA World Cups—Ronaldo was unable to cap the milestone with a goal and missed out on the scoring showcase put on by several of football’s biggest stars.
To make matters worse, CR7’s scoreless outing extended his goal drought in major international tournaments to 10 matches. During that span, he has attempted 33 shots, with only 11 finding the target.
The lack of end product has become increasingly noticeable. João Neves, who scored Portugal’s lone goal in the 1-1 draw against DR Congo in their World Cup opener, and Francisco Conceição are Portugal’s leading scorers over the last 10 matches, with three goals apiece. In major tournaments, Gonçalo Ramos remains the team’s most recent prolific scorer thanks to his hat trick in Portugal’s 6-1 victory over Switzerland at Qatar 2022.
WAS THE WRITING ON THE WALL?
Ronaldo failed to score in Portugal’s World Cup opener, in all five of the team’s matches at UEFA Euro 2024, and in four of Portugal’s final five games at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
His last goal in a major international tournament came in Portugal’s opening match of Qatar 2022, when he converted a penalty in the 65th minute of a 3-2 victory over Ghana.
Since then, he has gone scoreless against Uruguay, South Korea, Switzerland and Morocco at the World Cup, as well as against Czechia, Türkiye, Georgia, Slovenia and France during Euro 2024.
With Portugal still chasing a deep run in North America, the question now is whether the all-time great can rediscover his finishing touch before the tournament slips away.
Will he be able to turn things around when Portugal faces Uzbekistan on June 23 in Houston, Texas?
