Cristiano Ronaldo dreams of lifting the UEFA Nations League trophy for a third time. The Portugal captain could hardly have made a worse start, ending up as the worst player on the pitch in the meeting with Wales.
Portugal beat Wales 1-0 on Thursday in the opening round of the group stage of the 2027 UEFA Nations League.
Al-Nassr's Joao Felix scored the only goal, netting in his first match under new coach Jorge Jesus, who has taken over from Spaniard Roberto Martinez.
Ronaldo, by contrast, flopped. He was the lowest-rated player across both teams with a mark of 5.8 out of 10, according to statistics website "SofaScore".
Across 67 minutes, Ronaldo took 7 shots, only 2 of them on target. He missed a big chance, strayed offside 3 times, and drew a blank despite an expected goals tally of 1.32.
The Al-Nassr star tried a single dribble and failed with it. He lost possession 5 times, won one foul, and completed 14 of his 17 passes at 82% accuracy.
Such a modest display jarred with his words before the game, when he insisted he wanted to lead Portugal to the Nations League title for a third time, having already done so in 2019 and 2025.
Ronaldo did find the net against Wales, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside in the build-up.