Ron Out of Steam – Revealing the One Brave Change Portugal Must Make to Win the World Cup

Ron Out of Steam – Revealing the One Brave Change Portugal Must Make to Win the World Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo has played every single minute for Portugal in the 2026 World Cup. But should we really be surprised? Despite being 41 years of age, Ronaldo has still been chosen to spearhead his nation’s attack in what will be his last World Cup.

Having appeared at the tournament six times before and only achieving a highest finish of fourth, it seems to many that desperation is kicking in for the footballing icon to try and claim a World Cup title ahead of his retirement.

But is he just hurting Portugal’s chances of being able to win the competition?

Why Ronaldo is becoming an issue and not the solution

Now don’t get me wrong there’s absolutely no doubting that Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers to have ever graced this planet. However, in the words of Maroon 5, even the sun sets in paradise, and I’m afraid that time looks to have come for Ronaldo.

Roberto Martínez hasn’t shown any sign of recognising this either, as he has started Ronaldo in all three group stage games, and hasn’t even subbed off the Portuguese forward.

The big problem with this is that Portugal’s other attacking options aren’t being utilised as they are limited to game time off the bench. These include the big names of Rafael Leão and Gonçalo Ramos, who now both play for AC Milan as the Italian side paid PSG £63.7 plus add-ons for Ramos.

🚨🔴⚫️ BREAKING: Gonçalo Ramos to AC Milan, here we go! Deal agreed between the clubs and on player side.

Club record signing for AC Milan, breaking Leão record as it was €50m — fee will be way in excess of this with add-ons.

Deal also done on player side. 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/UsFjbJE6QM

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 26, 2026

Leão has only played 46 minutes of World Cup football across the three-group stage games, and impressively managed to get himself on the scoresheet versus Uzbekistan despite only being on the pitch for seven minutes.

Ramos hasn’t been called upon by Martínez in the last two games, only making a substitute appearance in their opening game against DR Congo. When you take into consideration that Ramos has scored over 12 goals in each of the last four seasons, three at PSG and one at Benfica, it’s baffling that the 25-year-old has only played seven minutes at this year’s World Cup.

A mixture of Martínez’s mismanagement and Ronaldo’s reluctance to be dropped, top quality forwards are being left to rot on the bench because of Ronaldo’s repeated inclusion in the starting eleven.

Now you could counter this argument by saying that Portugal still had something to play for in their last group stage match unlike other top teams, however Ronaldo isn’t even being taken off with 10 minutes to go.

It very much appears like Portugal’s number seven is in the team on reputation at the moment, as I feel like he’s making the dynamic of the team unbalanced and unnatural due to his presence.

Not everything needs to go through him, and perhaps bringing on a different character and style of striker would open up more successful avenues for Portugal to attack through.

Despite this alternate way of thinking, Martínez still backs his decision to use Ronaldo for the entirety of the game.

🚨🇵🇹 Roberto Martinez on resting Cristiano or not: “Cristiano is used to being in the right place at the right time. He is very disciplined in his position, and he also creates space for his teammates”.

“His physical and mental condition is not in question. We may need to make… pic.twitter.com/0mugNHHrnH

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 28, 2026

Will Martínez eventually rest Ronaldo?

At the moment it seems very unlikely that Ronaldo will be benched for Portugal’s Round of 32 game against Croatia. Although surely the 41-year-old can’t play another 90-minute match in what would be his fourth straight match of the tournament.

If the Euro 2016 winners manage to navigate their way past the former World Cup finalists, a matchup against either Spain or Austria awaits in the Round of 16. The current European holders Spain will be tipped to advance to this stage of the competition, which would almost certainly mean Ronaldo would play the full 90 minutes against one of the tournament’s favourites.

So realistically Martínez will only put Ronaldo on reduced minutes against Croatia, but even this encounter might prove to be a match where Portugal will struggle for goals. In this scenario it would make sense for Martínez to look at the likes of Leão and Ramos.

But if current evidence is anything to go by, then the two AC Milan players might have to hope they come on to replace one of the wide players instead.

All in all, Martínez might have to face the ugly reality of if you live by the sword, you die by the sword. The Portugal manager looks to have gone all in on playing Ronaldo the most he possibly can, neglecting his other superb attacking options.

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez used 22 members of his squad in the World Cup group stage, rotating everyone apart from one.

Cristiano Ronaldo played every minute.

Against Colombia he was offside for his best chances. He did not track back, only breaking into a jog when a… pic.twitter.com/Ip3heI3mkh

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) June 28, 2026