By Rohith Nair
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida, June 19 (Reuters) - The Portugal squad are shutting out criticism of the team and captain Cristiano Ronaldo following an underwhelming draw in their World Cup opener against Democratic Republic of Congo, defender Ruben Dias said on Friday.
Congo, playing in their first World Cup for 52 years, frustrated Portugal 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.
Ronaldo, 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.
"The criticism is not significant for us, it's noise and part of the competition ... It's all noise," Dias told reporters at Portugal's training camp.
"It always happens if you have a match that doesn't go well. We're closing ourselves off from unnecessary criticism."
The Portugal captain was dealt a sharp critique by former France striker Thierry Henry, who suggested Ronaldo was playing for personal glory rather than team success.
"One thing that's important: the team needs to score, not you need to score," Henry said in his analysis on Fox, adding that Ronaldo was getting in the way of team-mates in a better position to score.
RONALDO 'USED TO MEDIA PRESSURE'
But Dias refused to single out Ronaldo, who is competing in his sixth World Cup.
"Cristiano, of course, is used to dealing with the media pressure we usually face in the club, the national team, world tournaments, European competitions," Dias said.
"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," he added.
READY FOR UZBEKISTAN CLASH
Dias, who was benched for the opener while recovering from injury, declared himself ready to play for Tuesday's second group match against Uzbekistan.
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 Manchester City.
"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," Dias said.
"Respecting positional discipline becomes decisive in matches like these.
"I believe we have players with enough quality that, by respecting our positions and making the right decisions, we can make the difference."
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Miami;Editing by Helen Popper)
