Ruben Dias insists Portugal are ignoring criticism as Ronaldo noise loudens at World Cup

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/d-r-congo/phn9mm8H/"]D.R. Congo[/a], playing in their first World Cup for 52 years, frustrated [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/portugal/WvJrjFVN/"]Portugal[/a] in ‌a 1-1 draw that left the European side with just ‌one shot on target despite completing 740 passes, prompting a barrage of criticism.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ronaldo-cristiano/WGOY4FSt/"]Ronaldo[/a], ‌in particular, found himself in the firing line as the 41-year-old's ‌goal drought at major tournaments extended to 10 games stretching back to the 2022 World Cup, despite being the all-time top scorer.[/p][image alt="Ronaldo pass map" id="4847261d-a78f-40b9-952e-3fb419e25dad" credit-line="Grzegorz Wajda / SOPA Images / Sipa Press / Profimedia / Opta by StatsPerform" guid="f5a56bd8-419d-4be2-b4b3-5a211c62268a" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]"[b]The criticism is not significant for ‌us, it's noise and part of the competition ... ⁠It's all noise[/b]," [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dias-ruben/OpVD3nmU/"]Dias[/a] told ‌reporters at Portugal's training camp.[/p][p]"[b]It always happens if you have a match that doesn't ​go well. We're closing ourselves off from unnecessary criticism[/b]."[/p][p]The Portugal captain was dealt a sharp critique by former [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/france/QkGeVG1n/"]France[/a] striker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/henry-thierry/S4aJ3ciG/"]​Thierry Henry[/a], who suggested Ronaldo was playing for personal glory rather than team success.[/p][p]"[b]One thing that's important: the team needs to score, not ⁠you need to score[/b]," ​Henry said in his analysis on Fox, adding that Ronaldo was getting in the way of teammates in a better position to score.[/p][h2]Ronaldo used to media pressure[/h2][p]But Dias refused to single out Ronaldo, who is competing in his ‌sixth World Cup.[/p][p]"[b]Cristiano, of course, is used to dealing with the media pressure we usually face in the club, the national team, world tournaments, European competitions[/b]," Dias said.[/p][p]"[b]In this sort of competition, it will never be perfect ... This is a competition you can win only if you play well game after game[/b]," he added.[/p][h2]Ready for Uzbekistan clash[/h2][p]Dias, who was benched for the opener while recovering from injury, declared himself ready to play for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/portugal-WvJrjFVN/uzbekistan-EZYKKRMc/?mid=nRFcNx7D"]Tuesday's second group match[/a] against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/uzbekistan/EZYKKRMc/"]Uzbekistan[/a].[/p][p]Having faced Congo's ‌defensive back five, Portugal could encounter a similar strategy from Uzbekistan, and ​Dias said it was a tactic he had seen repeatedly ‌while playing for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]Manchester City[/a].[/p][embed guid="a787e8be-f8bc-40bd-9398-a98cb892c7c3" url="https://x.com/selecaoportugal/status/2067688276996096137" social-type="twitter" /][p]"[b]I come from playing most of my club matches against teams that use a back five, so I have a very clear idea about it[/b]," Dias said.[/p][p]"[b]Respecting positional discipline becomes decisive in matches like these[/b].[/p][p]"[b]I believe we have players with ⁠enough quality that, by respecting ⁠our positions and making the ‌right decisions, we can make the difference[/b]."[/p][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /]