Portugal defender Ruben Dias has come to the rescue of his teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been receiving criticism for his performance in the team's FIFA World Cup 2026 contest against DR Congo.
The contest ended in a 1-1 draw, and Ronaldo wasn't able to leave any sort of impression, failing to have a single shot on target.
Former Arsenal and France player Thierry Henry had criticized Ronaldo, saying the team “needs to score” and he doesn't need to.
However, Dias brushed aside the criticism ahead of the upcoming match against Uzbekistan, calling the chatter just “noise.”
“It's not an issue for us,” Dias said when asked about criticism of Ronaldo.
“It's insignificant -- just a bit of fuss and noise. It's all part of the game,” he added.
Dias said that criticism of Ronaldo is nothing new, and all the noise is part and parcel of the game.
“First and foremost, the criticism isn't directed at just one player. Cristiano is a major focus of attention, but I think we're all in the firing line. Above all, apart from what I've just said, I don't think anything out of the ordinary is happening. It's always been like this since I've been here. I believe it will continue to be so in the future and, as such, it's nothing new,” said Dias.
“In the end, it's noise. We isolate ourselves from it and focus on doing our thing,” he added.
