"Father Time has knocked on the door, it's made a phone call and someone from Portugal needs to pick up the phone." That's former U.S. international Taylor Twellman, and he's not wrong.
Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes of Portugal's draw against DR Congo and contributed next to nothing. When asked point-blank whether Portugal are better without him on the pitch, Twellman didn't hesitate: "Yes."
The stat that should be keeping Martinez up at night
In their last 10 major tournament games — over 1,000 minutes of football — Ronaldo has not scored a single goal from open play. Not one. For a striker who built his entire legacy on ruthless finishing, that's not a dip in form. That's a structural problem.
Twellman's suggestion is simple: bring him off the bench. "This may be the deepest Portuguese team they've ever had at a World Cup," he said, "but I think they're better if Ronaldo comes off the bench." Hard to argue with when the alternatives — younger, sharper, more mobile — are being kept out of the starting eleven to accommodate a 39-year-old running on reputation.
Portugal's attacking odds deserve a second look in that context. A team with this much depth playing below its ceiling because of one untouchable selection is exactly the kind of inefficiency the market doesn't always price in correctly.
Martinez isn't listening
Roberto Martinez defended his man the way managers always do — leaning on Ronaldo's status as "the best goal scorer in world football" and pointing to DR Congo's defensive setup as the reason nothing came off. That's fair context. It's also a deflection.
Twellman himself admitted he doesn't expect anything to change. Martinez essentially confirmed it. So Portugal will keep starting Ronaldo, keep grinding through matches that should be more comfortable, and keep hoping the old version shows up when it matters.
Portugal face Uzbekistan on Tuesday, June 23. If the pattern holds, we'll know what that result probably looks like before kick-off.
