Cristiano Ronaldo receives fifth-worst performance rating of 2022 FIFA World Cup after poor display in Portugal’s 2-1 defeat to South Korea

Cristiano Ronaldo was less than impressive for Portugal in their FIFA World Cup loss against South Korea.
Cristiano Ronaldo was less than impressive for Portugal in their FIFA World Cup loss against South Korea.

Cristiano Ronaldo's performance for Portugal in their 2-1 FIFA World Cup defeat against South Korea received the fifth-worst WhoScored rating for an outfield player in the competition so far.

The former Manchester United centre-forward failed to make any sort of positive impact on the game. He neither ducked nor took the onus to clear a South Korean corner kick in the 27th minute.

The result was the ball being deflected off Ronaldo's body straight into the path of Kim Young-gwon. He finished with the utmost precision to cancel out Ricardo Horta's fifth-minute goal for Portugal.

14 minutes later, Ronaldo missed a straightforward header from point-blank range after the ball fell into his path following a save from goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu. The five-time Ballon d'Or was withdrawn from action 20 minutes after the second half began.

The Asian nation grabbed a memorable winning goal in the first minute of stoppage time through Hwang Hee-chan. Portugal still finished top of the group, while South Korea progressed at the expense of Uruguay, who beat Ghana 2-0.

Cristiano Ronaldo's forgettable performance was capped off by an incredibly low 5.11 rating on WhoScored. Only four outfield players have managed to get a rating lower than that so far in the competition.

Costa Rica's Francisco Duarte and Oscar Duarte received a 4.6 and a 5.0 rating, respectively, in their team's 7-0 loss to Spain. Wales' Ben Davies was handed a 5.1 rating in his team's 2-0 loss against England.

Left-back Abdul Rahman Baba, meanwhile, was handed a rating of 4.83 in his team's 3-2 loss against Portugal. The 2016 UEFA Euros champions will square up against Switzerland in the last 16 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on 6 December.


Xherdan Shaqiri matches Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's FIFA World Cup feat

Xherdan Shaqiri scored his team's first goal in an enthralling 3-2 win against Serbia on 2 December.

The Swiss needed a win to ensure qualification from Group G, where they eventually finished as runners-up to Brazil on goal difference. Shaqiri, meanwhile, ensured that he had scored in the last three FIFA World Cup tournaments for his team.

He shares this feat with only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Shaqiri scored thrice in the 2014 World Cup, with all three goals coming in a 3-0 group-stage win against Honduras.

He grabbed a goal in a 2-1 group-stage win against Serbia in the next edition and scored against the same opposition in Qatar just over four years later.

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