Portugal suffered a 2-1 defeat against South Korea in their final FIFA World Cup group game and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese captain, was the subject of immense criticism on Twitter for his poor performance.
Ronaldo started for Fernando Santos’ side, despite his country having already secured qualification to the knockout stages of the tournament. His tournament hasn’t been one to write home about so far, and his performance against South Korea was another disappointment.
Ronaldo was caught offside on three occasions in the match. He also had a guilt-edged opportunity to score, but the 37-year-old failed to do so.
To make things worse, the former Manchester United forward was at fault for South Korea’s equalizer in the 27th minute. The ball bounced off Ronaldo’s shoulder as he attempted to duck under it and straight into Kim Young-gwon’s path from a corner. The Korean made no mistake in slotting the ball home. Ronaldo was eventually substituted during the second half.
Portugal conceded another goal later in the match and were defeated by a scoreline of 2-1. Despite their loss, the 2016 UEFA Euro champions advanced as group winners.
The Koreans also advanced to the next round, courtesy of their win. Uruguay managed a 2-0 win against Ghana, which meant that both countries were level on points and goal difference. However, the Asian side scored more goals in the group stages and thus progressed ahead of the South American giants.
Cristiano Ronaldo has only scored once so far in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He opened his team’s scoring during the 3-2 win against Ghana from the penalty spot.
Critics on Twitter pointed out that Ronaldo hasn’t scored a non-penalty goal for his country in the last six games. Some even opined that if Lionel Messi put on such a poor display, it would be talked about all the time.
Here are some of the best reactions from Twitter after Ronaldo’s dismal showing against South Korea in the World Cup:
Cristiano Ronaldo’s past six games for Portugal:
‣ 0 non-penalty goals
‣ 6 big chances missed
Liability? 
If Messi dropped this performance that Ronaldo is currently dropping, we would never hear the end of it
Ronaldo world cup so far:
– one dived penalty
– one great attempt to rob goal of his own teammate
– one assist to korea
– gift of few more pairs of underwears to @piersmorgan
My 
Ronaldo casually getting away with the worst performance at the WC so far is insane
Ronaldo fans really said he was the one carrying Portugal. That fanbase should never mention anything football AGAIN tbh! 
🥴 Cristiano Ronaldo’s WS Rating (5.11) from today is the 5th worse of outfield players at #Qatar2022
🙃 Those 4 were defenders for Costa Rica (x2), Wales and Ghana…
#FIFAWorldCup
Ronaldo has been substituted in all the games he played for Portugal in the World Cup
But there’s no noise about it because it’s not Ten Hag subbing him out
LMAO, seeing Ronaldo fans still expecting clutch moments, just pray the whole team rise to the occasion and win the trophy
Who will Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal play in their next game at the 2022 FIFA World Cup?
Despite their loss, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal finished in the top spot of their group in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. They will play the runners-up of Group G in their next game.
Brazil vs. Cameroon and Serbia vs. Switzerland are the two games to be played in Group G later tonight. With six points from two games, Brazil are already through to the next round (most likely as group winners). However, the second qualification spot is still up for grabs and all three teams have a shot.
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