Portugal Play Differently Without Cristiano Ronaldo — but Does His Absence Make Them Better?

Portugal thrashed Armenia 9-1 on Sunday to seal their place in the draw for the 2026 World Cup.

It was Portugal’s biggest win since they battered Luxembourg 9-0 in September 2023.

What do those two games have in common? Cristiano Ronaldo did not feature in either.

Ronaldo was suspended for Sunday’s clash with Armenia after receiving the 13th red card of his career in a 2-0 defeat by Ireland three days earlier.

The 40-year-old recently confirmed that the 2026 World Cup will be his last. But many fans seem to think Ronaldo should call time on his international career before next summer’s tournament, rather than after it.

Fans claim Portugal are a better team without Cristiano Ronaldo

Even though he did not play on Sunday, Cristiano Ronaldo’s name was one of the top sporting trends on social media.

“Portugal without Ronaldo are a much more better team,” read one post that received over 1,000 likes on X.

Another fan wrote: “Call me Crazy but this Portugal team are better without Ronaldo.”

A third tweet read: “Ronaldo fans hate the truth, but Portugal are a better team without him.”

Portugal’s recent results without Cristiano Ronaldo

Portugal have played just six matches without Cristiano Ronaldo since the 2022 World Cup.

Those six games included high-scoring victories over Luxembourg, Sweden, Finland and now Armenia. But they failed to beat Croatia on two occasions.

• Portugal 9-1 Armenia
• Croatia 1-1 Portugal
• Portugal 1-2 Croatia
• Portugal 4-2 Finland
• Portugal 5-2 Sweden
• Portugal 9-0 Luxembourg

During the same period, Ronaldo has featured in 30 games for Portugal — scoring 25 goals.

With Ronaldo since the last World Cup, Portugal have won 70% of their games. Without him, that win percentage drops to 66.6%.

However, Portugal score more goals as a team without Ronaldo — averaging 2.2 per game when he plays and 4.8 when he does not.

Portugal more free without Cristiano Ronaldo

Whether or not Portugal are better without Ronaldo is very much up for debate. But they do seem freer without him.

Ronaldo is a football legend. His career is unrivalled in terms of goals, while his silverware haul is also spectacular — and looks set to grow this season, with Al-Nassr threatening to break the Saudi Pro League points record.

But one of the issues with Ronaldo is that he demands to be the centre of attention, both literally and tactically. If a manager selects Ronaldo in their starting XI then the rest of that team must be set up to serve the greatest goalscorer in football history.

This method works much of the time because Ronaldo is still an elite No 9 in terms of his movement and finishing, while the majority of Portugal’s opponents are significantly inferior. Indeed, Ronaldo has scored 25 goals in his last 30 international games.

However, Portugal lack adaptability when Ronaldo plays. Despite his undoubted brilliance, he can be a passenger without the ball.

Ronaldo may not always be the best pick for every game, but dropping him comes with the risk of a backlash.

How did Cristiano Ronaldo play at the 2022 World Cup?

Who can forget what happened when Fernando Santos benched Cristiano Ronaldo at the last World Cup? His replacement, Goncalo Ramos, scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 win over Switzerland, yet Santos was still widely attacked on social media after the game.

Ronaldo, who had thrown a wobbly after being subbed off in a 2-1 loss to South Korea four days earlier, replaced Ramos for the final 20 minutes against Switzerland and somehow managed to make the night all about himself.

At the end of the game, Ronaldo left the field alone while his teammates celebrated together. His partner Georgina Rodriguez later took to Instagram to express her disappointment that the fans had not “been able to enjoy the best player in the world for 90 minutes”.

Including that brief cameo against Switzerland, Ronaldo played five times for Portugal at the 2022 World Cup, scoring one goal — a penalty kick in a 3-2 win over Ghana.

A brilliant team performance from Portugal.

The fans here love Cristiano Ronaldo but you sense his teammates are growing less fond of him.

Ronaldo saluted the crowd by himself at the end of the game before leaving the field alone while the rest of the squad celebrated together. pic.twitter.com/bkpuVIavKZ

— Robert Summerscales (@robsummerscales) December 6, 2022

Will Cristiano Ronaldo play at the 2026 World Cup?

Barring injury, Cristiano Ronaldo will represent Portugal at the 2026 World Cup. He is still his country’s captain and has played in more than 83% of their games since the last World Cup.

But Ronaldo may have to wait until Portugal’s third group game before he can play. His red card against Ireland is likely to come with a three-game ban because it was for violent conduct — his suspension began against Armenia, which was Portugal’s final match before the World Cup.

Even with that suspension hanging over his head, there is little doubt that Ronaldo is well worthy of a place in the Portugal squad.

The question is whether Ronaldo — who will be 41 next summer — should command a guaranteed starting place. That question will be asked a lot more loudly if Portugal win their first two World Cup games without him.