“The ball didn’t reach Ronaldo”: true or false?

Cristiano Ronaldo received even more and better service than the average striker used in the opening round of the World Cup — forwards who scored and, in some cases, scored twice and even assisted.

In view of the fact that “the ball didn’t reach Ronaldo” has quickly become one of the main arguments in favor of the national team captain following Wednesday’s unexpected draw against DR Congo in their 2026 World Cup debut. But has the ball really not reached the Portuguese star’s feet enough times?

Data from the first round, analyzed by , shows that Cristiano Ronaldo received even more service than average of the center forwards used in the opening round — attackers who, by chance, even scored, scored twice, assisted.

Among players who played as strikers or center forwards for at least 51 minutes, the average number of passes received was 15. Ronaldo received 20 passesranking 15th out of 65 players used in this role.

In other words, he was not among the most ball-deprived attackers. On the contrary: received more passes than several names who managed to score or assist in the same round.

Erling Haaland, for Norway, scored two goals, in a game in which he received just nine passes and scored two goals; Folarin Balogun, from the United States, received 18 and also scored twice; Alexander Isak, for Sweden, received 16 passes, scored a goal and made two assists; Harry Kane, for England, received the same 20 passes as Ronaldo and scored.

There are more examples: Petar Musa (Croatia) and Jovo Lukic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Aymen Hussein (Egypt) received half of Ronaldo’s passes and scored; Raúl Jiménez (Mexico) received 5 fewer passes than Ronaldo and also scored in the first round.

Yoane Wissa, scorer of the DR Congo goal that “spoiled Portugal’s party and once again raised the Ronaldo theme, received 13 passes — seven less than CR7.

This does not mean that Portugal played a good offensive game. The team lateralized excessively, had only 27% verticality and practically did not explore the right flank until Francisco Conceição occupied the zone that belonged to Bernardo Silva, notes Goalpoint — but this collective limitation does not erase the individual part of the analysis.

Ronaldo was the player who took the most shots in the matchtotaling three shots, all born from passes received from colleagues. None were framed. Ronaldo wasted every scoring opportunity he had, having been the player on the field with the most expected goals at his feet or head.

Portugal created little, but the best situations that came to someone ended up reaching their captain and they didn’t have the best fate.

What passes were those?

Faced with these facts, many ask: “but what passes were those? Were they good passes?”. It’s a legitimate question.

Many passes that Ronaldo received from his teammates, he was the one who picked them up, outside the box. But this was also what the strikers listed above, who scored with fewer passes received, did, shows the Goalpoint map analysis, which summarizes: there is “an indication of difficulties for the player himself in fulfilling the role”. Ronaldo looked for play outside the box “as a top striker in the World Cup should be able to do”.

Haaland and Kane are strong examples on this issue. In this first round of the World Cup, the two attackers also did not have an abundant supply inside the area. Haaland didn’t even receive a low pass in that area: he scored with an aerial cross. Kane made just two shots after passes received in the box. Ronaldo had three finishing opportunities and didn’t take any of them.

Martínez’s men hope to do better now this Tuesday, from 6pm, against Uzbekistanin the second round of the 2026 World Cup.