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Portugal's World Cup campaign got off to a frustrating start with a 1-1 draw against DR Congo.
The Group K clash should, at least on paper, have been a relatively straightforward outing for Portugal , who are among the tournament favourites this summer.
However, Portugal lacked a cutting edge and Cristiano Ronaldo cut a dejected figure throughout.
Cristiano Ronaldo appealed for offside against his own player
There was one particular moment in this World Cup 2026 game where Ronaldo was more animated, though.
Funnily enough, it was when his own teammate, Joao Cancelo, was in an offside position as he put the ball in the back of the net.
Is Cristiano Ronaldo appealing for an offside against... Joao Cancelo? pic.twitter.com/K5kIu7TOQG June 17, 2026
Is Cristiano Ronaldo appealing for an offside against... Joao Cancelo? pic.twitter.com/K5kIu7TOQG June 17, 2026
For some reason, in the footage from that incident, it appears Ronaldo actually flagged to the linesman to say that his compatriot was offside.
After Cancelo performed an impressive overhead kick, Ronaldo immediately waved his arm in the air to signal something wasn't right, much like a defender would do if an opponent had just scored against them.
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Of course, he may simply have been letting his colleague know it wasn't worth celebrating, but this is not the first time the Portuguese captain has been seen making such a gesture after a teammate scored.
Back in 2023, Anderson Talisca scored late on in an Asian Champions League game to put Al-Nassr ahead. However, as soon as his header nestled in the goal, Ronaldo was seen making that same gesture once again.
Years earlier, in 2016, Ronaldo did it again while playing for Real Madrid . Alvaro Morata grabbed a late winner for Los Blancos against Athletic Bilbao, but Ronaldo looked over to the linesman and waved his hand as if to suggest the goal shouldn't stand.
Many fans have claimed the footballing icon is merely celebrating when he does this, but it's hard to ignore how much it looks like he just doesn't want anyone else to score a goal.
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