"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 to say it.
Portugal drew with Congo DR — a result that looked worse live than it reads on paper — and Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes without leaving a mark on the game. When asked directly whether Portugal perform better without him, Twellman didn't hesitate. "Yes."
The numbers are hard to argue with
Twellman has been making this case for six months, and the evidence has only stacked up. Over the last 10 major tournament games — more than 1,000 minutes of football — Ronaldo has not scored a single goal from open play. Not one. For a player deployed as a central striker, that's not a rough patch. That's a structural problem.
Portugal may be carrying their most talented World Cup squad ever. Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes, Pedro Neto, Rafael Leão — this is a deep, technically gifted group that can hurt teams in multiple ways. The argument Twellman is making isn't that Ronaldo is finished as a footballer. It's that starting him is costing Portugal the flexibility to be their best version.
"I think they're better if Ronaldo comes off the bench," Twellman said. He later admitted he doesn't expect that to happen — and that's exactly the problem.
Martinez isn't listening
Roberto Martinez pushed back, as you'd expect. "It makes no sense to get the best goal scorer in world football out of a game that you need goals," he said after the Congo draw.
There's a logic to it. Against a packed five-and-six-man defensive block, you want your most dangerous presence on the pitch. But Ronaldo hasn't been that presence in over 1,000 minutes of tournament football. The threat Martinez is managing for no longer exists at the level that justifies the cost.
Portugal face Uzbekistan on Tuesday. If the pattern holds, the question won't get quieter — it'll get louder. Any World Cup odds on Portugal advancing deep should be weighed against the fact that their tactical ceiling may be artificially capped by one selection decision Martinez won't make.
"Someone from Portugal needs to pick up the phone." So far, nobody has.
