On a day where Portugal was expected to show why this could be the tournament where the stars align and they win the World Cup, the opposite occurred.

The roster loaded with talent played on back foot at times against a nation that had never scored a World Cup goal before in DR Congo.

Well, that was before they played Portugal, as DR Congo not only scored a goal against Portugal but left with a point against them after drawing 1-1 in a slog of a match.

At the forefront of the criticism was 41-year-old striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who played the entire game but failed to generate any high quality scoring chances throughout the contest. When pundits and fans alike expected Ronaldo to be substituted off in the final quarter of the game to possibly bring in fresh legs for a deciding goal, manager Roberto Martínez stuck with the legend.

After the game, with questions about why Ronaldo wasn't subbed off, Martínez doubled down in his support of Ronaldo and his place leading the attack.

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"It makes no sense to get the best goal scorer in world football out in a game that you need goals," said the Portugal manager.

He minimized the result of the game by pointing to Argentina, who lost to Saudi Arabia to begin the 2022 World Cup and went on to win it all.

Fans online, though, aren't buying what Martínez is selling, wondering if he will make it through the World Cup in charge.

"Martinez pulls up scouting reports on Internet Explorer," posted a fan on the soccer Reddit about Martínez's quote.

"Keep that energy for 2 more matches please," added in a poster with a Colombian flag.

"The coddling is insane," simply put another reactor. "Man is over 40."

It won't get any easier for Portugal and Ronaldo, as they first take on a much better defense in the form of Uzbekistan next week before finishing their group play against Colombia.