Former Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo had an opening night to forget at the 2026 World Cup, as Portugal failed to beat DR Congo and the 41 year-old looked a pale imitation of his former self
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal walks off the pitch after the 1-1 draw with DR Congo
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal walks off the pitch after the 1-1 draw with DR Congo(Image: 2026 Getty Images)
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Axel Tuanzabe has no regrets about piling on the pain for former team-mate and mentor Cristiano Ronaldo.
Tuanzabe shared a Manchester United dressing room with Ronaldo -and used to seek his advice at the club's Carrington training ground. But whatever respect Tuanzabe has for the footballing icon was nowhere to be seen in Houston, where his Congo side secured a shock draw with Portugal in their first World Cup game since 1974.
Tuanzabe was at the heart of a defensive masterclass which reduced footballing legend and scoring machine Ronaldo to an also ran. It was the last thing Ronaldo, 41, needed, in the wake of growing claims he is now too old to still produce the goods on the biggest stage.
But there is no chance of Burnley centre back Tuanzabe feeling bad about it.
Tuanzabe said: "Cristiano is still hungry, he still wants to play, he still wants to show everybody how good he is. In the box, he wants to get the goals, he wants to get to that magic number of a thousand.
"He will be disappointed, but that's my job. I'm sure Cristiano, wherever he goes, he'll bring a swarm of fans with him. But ultimately, we're just happy about the result."
In contrast to Tuanzebe however, his Congo team-mate Ngaleyel Mukau was happy to stick the boot in on Ronaldo, taunting the ex-United forward and admitting Congo didn't even bother to come up with a plan to stop him because they weren't worried.
He said: "He's one of the greatest to ever play the game. So much respect to him. But to be honest, there was no plan, not really, because we know that he isn't the same as before.
"He's a bit older now. When you get old like that, it's not the same effort that you can make."
It wasn't a good day for Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal
It wasn't a good day for Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal(Image: ©Icon Sportswire All Rights Reserved)
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On his side's display, Ronaldo summed up his disappointment while signing autographs post game: "What was missing? Nothing was missing, that's football. Portugal could have won, but it could also have lost. It could have gone either way."
On social media, he commented: "It wasn't the start we wanted, but this is far from over. Heads up and focus on the next game."
Tuanzabe endured a miserable Premier League season, which saw him get relegated with the Clarets.
He admits this seismic result has put a smile back on his face again - and given Congo the appetite to go on and produce some more World Cup shocks.
He added: "It's definitely a positive for me personally. Getting good results always feels good. And, look, it's a massive tournament. It's the biggest event in the world and we want to perform and do well in it.
"Our mission now is to qualify. We need one win, we've got two games to do that, to get the three points. And we're definitely going to go one hundred per cent at it, whether it be Colombia or Uzbekistan.
"We're going to go flat out and try to get it done sooner rather than later. So, yeah, we'll be recovering now and getting ready for that game."