Cristiano Ronaldo’s journey at the FIFA World Cup 2026 has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. The 41-year-old Portugal star began the Group K campaign with a 1-1 draw against DR Congo. The match drew significant criticism as Ronaldo failed to get on the scoresheet and looked out of touch. However, he bounced back strongly against Uzbekistan, scoring two brilliant goals to help Portugal secure a commanding 5-0 victory. His resurgence offered fans a sense of relief, proving that the Portuguese star still has his magic.
Yet, his struggles resurfaced in the final group-stage match against Colombia, where Portugal were held to a goalless draw. Ronaldo’s underwhelming performance in that game once again sparked a wave of memes on social media.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Columbia:
Shots : 1
Dribbling :0
Duel won : 0
Chance create : 0
big chance miss: 2
Lost balls : 8 timesI’M BACK pic.twitter.com/yD6YgqFlZg
— Fútbol Memes (@FutbollMemes) June 28, 2026
Cristiano Ronaldo screaming “I am back” to the camera after scoring two goals vs the worst team at the World Cup and then ghosting vs a, real team like Colombia https://t.co/o1dSb00KCM pic.twitter.com/JuqSQe9cAO
— Johnny Cortes (@johnnycortes) June 28, 2026
PORTUGAL COUNTER-ATTACK, HERE COMES CRISTIANO RONALDO: pic.twitter.com/vm1rrvVCAU
— Footy Humour (@FootyHumour) June 28, 2026
Colombia finished top of World Cup Group K after playing out a highly-entertaining end-to-end 0-0 draw with Portugal. Colombia will feel hard done by nevertheless as a marginal offside ruled out a late goal by Davinson Sanchez. The Colombians will play Ghana in the last 32 next Friday, while runners-up Portugal will see Cristiano Ronaldo face his old Real Madrid teammate Croatian icon Luka Modric on Thursday.
However, Ronaldo was a peripheral presence in the fast-paced match, outshone by another former Real teammate, 34-year-old James Rodriguez.
The game watched by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and FIFA President Gianni Infantino was played to the backdrop of a cacophony of noise from Colombian fans.
Colombia should have opened the scoring early on but Jhon Cordoba headed over from close range after being brilliantly teed up by Bayern Munich star Luis Diaz.
Cordoba went close again in the 17th minute, showing some sparkling skills to shrug off a Portuguese defender and unleash a piledriver of a strike.
Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa did well to beat it away.
Portugal have their talisman in the ageing Ronaldo but Colombia have their own in Rodriguez.
In his 11th World Cup appearance — a record for his country — the 34-year-old produced a typical piece of magic, a reverse pass found Jhon Arias, whose goalbound effort was cleared off the line by Ruben Neves.
Ronaldo’s sole contribution was a free-kick which went straight into the arms of Colombian goalkeeper Camilo Vargas.
(With AFP Inputs)
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