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5 min readJun 28, 2026 08:45 AM IST
What would hurt Ronaldo most is not that he was absent, but how he came to be absent. (AP Photo)
Age has defeated Cristiano Ronaldo. It offered another cold reminder. Several taps on his shoulders, several memos. If he still doesn’t feel it, the caprices of time and the reconciliation with his faded prowess, another golden generation of Portugal will wither with their unfulfilled renown.
Ronaldo is not only the problem for Portugal, but he is central to it.
The worst moment came in stoppage time before half-time. Pedro Neto blitzed down the right, all alone, and was about to cross from the edge of the box. He found no one. Not Ronaldo, not his shadow, not even a shadow of his shadow. He searched. Ronaldo was midway from the centre circle. Neto waited like Vladimir for Godot. By the time Ronaldo arrived, the Colombian had crowded him and the ball was stolen off Neto’s feet. Ronaldo gritted his teeth in anguish. He was not where he had to be. And that would hurt him more than anything else.
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Perhaps not. What would hurt him most is not that he was absent, but how he came to be absent. He is still mobile, still runs faster than most, even if a fraction of the explosive speed that made him a counter-attacking team’s crown prince has gone. But how he failed to judge the move; how he didn’t anticipate; how he didn’t foresee; how his footballing brain has deserted him. Some years ago he would have sauntered to where he should have been. Neto needn’t have waited for the man who didn’t arrive. Wit, as much as muscle, is an ageing player’s greatest asset. It repurposed his great rival Lionel Messi. It repurposed his great teammate Luka Modric. It was supposed to repurpose him. Instead, the wingers kept pausing for Ronaldo to catch up after their initial burst. It killed Portugal’s impetus every time.
Ronaldo reacts after missing a chance during the World Cup Group K match against Colombia in Miami Gardens. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Portugal came as favourites and went scoreless against both Congo and Colombia could be read through their greatest footballer’s travails. The juddering centre bolt, the wonky UPS.The goalless draw against Colombia, who wasted numerous chances and were denied a winner by a tight offside call, was another firm indication that they need a reboot if they are to progress to the round of 16 at the expense of a revitalised Croatia. Whether that reboot comes at Ronaldo’s expense remains to be seen. But he is presenting a strong case for himself to be dropped.
Soon after the hydration break, Portugal won a free-kick, 28 yards out, dead centre. Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Vitinha hovered around the ball. But once Ronaldo curled up his sleeves and spread his feet, the world knew who was taking it. He did: a weak shot through the deliberate gap in the wall, straight at the goalkeeper, bereft of power, curve or dip. From a similar angle in Russia he had conjured a pearler against Spain. Memories. Ghosts. Past.
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In the 63rd minute a ball was floated into the box for him to head. He tried to leap but gravity pulled him down. His gelled hair swished the air. He gestured at Neto that the delivery should have been an inch lower. Neto turned his face away. Ronaldo’s headers, those sculptural neck-wrenching leaps, once embodied something. Claudio Ranieri had remarked: “Ronaldo did something that you see in the NBA; he was up in the air for an hour and a half.” Here, it was not so much about the leap as the timing of it. He can still suspend himself in the air. He can no longer time the jump at the exact moment.
A masterful disruptor of the offside line, he was caught offside repeatedly. He would typically stand in an offside position and swish back to an onside perch at the exact point of delivery. On Saturday he was always a yard late. Colombia exploited it every time.
There was no shortage of ambition. In a crowded box he tried an audacious bicycle kick on the rebound and fell flat on his back. He tried to swivel and shoot with his left foot. Often, it dribbled to the nearest defender.
When the game ended Ronaldo seemed relieved. The swagger from the Uzbekistan win had vanished into the Miami night. What remained was his recent vintage: a ghost of the past, still haunting the places he used to own.
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