Is it time for Portugal to have a very difficult conversation about Cristiano Ronaldo?
The 41-year-old entered his record-extending sixth World Cup as he captained his side against DR Congo. He came into the game knowing that Kylian Mbappe had scored twice the day before. As did Erling Haaland. Better yet, his long-time nemesis, Lionel Messi, notched a hat-trick.
How did Ronaldo respond? He took 29 touches, managed as many shots as Messi had goals, and strolled around with a scowl on his face as his side meandered to a disappointing draw.
As is often the case, Ronaldo was the story. His goalless run in major international competitions now stands at 10 games. In comparison, Messi has scored nine in his last 10.
His number of touches showed just how little he brought to the table. Of Portugal's starting XI in Houston, only Bernardo Silva - who was withdrawn at half-time - managed less.
Roberto Martinez was quick to deflect the blame onto the rest of the team though.
"It makes no sense to get the best goalscorer in world football out in a game that you need goals," he said. "For us in moments like this, the experience of Cristiano in the box is important. The way that he attracts defenders is important, the way that we can use the space is important.
"And every player has a responsibility or a piece of quality on the pitch. And clearly when you look for goals, you need to have Cristiano."
Martinez has the aforementioned Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Pedro Neto, Vitinha, Joao Neves, Joao Cancelo and Nuno Mendes in positions to create opportunities. These are all some of, if not the very best players at doing that in their respective positions.
To suggest they are all the issue is a bold statement. But is it true?
When you look at Ronaldo's data compared to the likes of Messi, Mbappe and England skipper Harry Kane, you start to wonder if Martinez has a point.
Over each player's last 10 competitive international games, only Kane has had fewer shots on goal [30] than the Portuguese talisman. Over the course of those games, Ronaldo accrued an xG of 5.36. While that data isn't available for Messi, Kane [7.15] and Mbappe [8.76] are far superior.
That appears to give an indication of the quality of chances that have fallen Ronaldo's way. Does that have anything to do with the service of his team-mates? Potentially.
Across the 10 Portugal games, they built a combined xG of 12.76 while Ronaldo was on the pitch. England managed 16.39 with Kane and France 21.99 with Mbappe. Per 90, that's 1.32, 1.34 and 1.72 for each nation.
Delve deeper, and you can see that Ronaldo perhaps isn't being fed by his team-mates as effectively. His xG when assisted by team-mates across the barren run is just 2.55. Kane's is 3.2 while Mbappe's is a staggering 5.78.
All this creative talent behind Ronaldo, and yet he does seem to be feeding off scraps. However, Ronaldo has to shoulder some of the responsibility himself.
What the likes of Fernandes, Silva and Neves may point to is that while they haven't created as much as other national teams, they have created enough for Ronaldo to profit.
Had he taken a couple of those chances, the noise surrounding his position in the team might not be so loud. However, once seen as the most potent poacher in world football, Ronaldo has been incredibly underwhelming with the chances he has had.
His 'post shot' xG performance speaks volumes.
While Kane and Mbappe have overperformed in this area [Kane 2.05, Mbappe 2.25] Ronaldo is way below the mark. His stands at -2.8, meaning that he has scored nearly three goals fewer than what would be expected of him after he has made an attempt.
It's a sign that there has been a sharp decline in the clinical edge of the game's greatest goalscorer. The other thing he doesn't do, unlike Messi, Kane and Mbappe, is get involved in play anywhere near as much.
His touch map and heatmap against DR Congo not only shows how limited his involvement was, but how condensed it was too. That is also supported by his heatmap, where the majority of his action came in isolated positions on the left where the likes of Neto and Mendes should've been flourishing.
Everyone knows he's not the type of player to drop deep and start attacks like Kane or Messi might. But his lack of versatility in his positions is limiting his national team as much as their service to him is.
Martinez can't replace his whole creative unit on the whim of one man. But, he also refuses to take out Ronaldo because of what he believes he brings to the table. As a result, it means that Portugal may be left with another tournament of 'what ifs' for what could be considered a golden generation of Portuguese football.
