Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut at the World Cup was below the performance presented by Lionel Messi the day before.
While the Argentine led the 3-0 victory over Algeria with three goals, the Portuguese came up empty in the 1-1 draw between Portugal and the Democratic Republic of Congo this Wednesday (17).
The difference appears clearly in the statistics of the first round. Cristiano remained on the field during the 90 minutes of Portugal’s match, but was unable to take any shots towards the opponent’s goal — he took two shots in a similar situation, after a cross from the right side of the attack.
Messi, in turn, played for 80 minutes and ended the game with four shots on target and three goals.
The numbers also point to the Argentine’s greater participation in the construction of plays. Messi completed 30 short passes throughout the match, compared to Cristiano’s 19. In the offensive half of the field, there were 21 passes from the Argentine number 10, compared to 15 from the Portuguese striker.
Heatmaps help explain differences in performance.
Cristiano had more concentrated movement close to the rival goal. Most of his actions occurred on the right side of the Portuguese attack and in the vicinity of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s area, in a role more focused on completing the plays created by his teammates.
The Argentine appeared throughout practically the entire central offensive zone of the field, participating in the creation of plays and circulating between the midfield and the entrance to the opponent’s area.
The attitude on the field was also evident in the opportunities created by Portugal.
In one of the main chances of the match, in the 22nd minute of the second half, Francisco Conceição crossed low into the area. Bruno Fernandes appeared better positioned to finish, but Cristiano took over the completion of the play and sent it out.
Shortly afterwards, he had another opportunity in a favorable position, but again he failed to hit the target.
Portugal’s goal came from a cross from the left side, but the shot into the net was João Neves.
Messi, about to turn 39, started his sixth World Cup equaling Miroslav Klose as the top scorer in the history of the competition, with 16 goals.
Cristiano, 41, entered the field with the possibility of becoming the first athlete to score in six different editions of the tournament. He postponed the attempt until Portugal’s next commitments.
The Portuguese team will play again on the 23rd, against Uzbekistan, in Houston. A day earlier, Argentina faces Austria, in Dallas.
