Last Wednesday, while appearing in his sixth World Cup as a player, Cristiano Ronaldo tried his hand at being a linesman.

In the 54th minute of the Group K fixture between Portugal and DR Congo in Houston, Joao Cancelo struck a brilliant overhead kick that found the back of the net and gave Portugal a 2-1 lead.

But even before Cancelo could get up to begin celebrating, there was an appeal for an offside – not from the six Congo players standing in the box but from his teammate Ronaldo.

The 41-year-old raised his arm and looked towards the linesman in appeal, who was still undecided whether or not it was offside.

Ronaldo’s observation proved to be correct as the goal got overturned by VAR. Congo held firm for the rest of the match and earned a 1-1 draw against Portugal.

Against Congo, Ronaldo’s success rate at predicting offsides was 100 percent but when it came to scoring a goal, it tanked to zero.

Ronaldo played every minute of the game, took three shots at goal – all off target. He touched the ball 25 times, completed 19 passes and provided no crosses.

Ronaldo rarely came down the pitch to take part in the buildup, spending most of the match in the Congo box, asking for the ball, which rarely arrived.

The star-studded midfield of Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Joao Neves could not provide much. And when they did, Ronaldo couldn’t make anything out of them.

For long stretches, Ronaldo appeared to be a silent observer, at times even coming in the way of how Portugal wanted to play.

Former French forward and current pundit Thierry Henry pointed out how Ronaldo’s desperation to score actually hurt Portugal in the match.

While dissecting one particular play, Henry said, “Given that he wants to score, he puts himself in the way and denies Bruno the chance to score easily. All because he wanted to score himself."

Some fans on social media agreed with Henry’s assessment, feeling Ronaldo seemed more intent on scoring himself rather than helping his team to score.

His bizarre off-side appeal against his own teammate strengthens this argument.

But his loyal fans have not stayed quiet on social media, claiming it was just an instinctual gesture and shifting the blame onto other players for not supporting Ronaldo.

Portugal manager Roberto Martinez also defended Ronaldo’s performance.

“After the first goal, we didn't reach the final third at the level we needed in order to provide service to the striker [Ronaldo] and make use of his movements. So, there are aspects we need to improve,” Martinez said after the Congo match.

But when asked if Ronaldo will start against Uzbekistan in their second Group K match on Tuesday night, the Spanish coach kept mum.

“I can’t inform you about the starting XI because I haven’t informed my players,” Martinez said in the pre-match press conference.

After opening their campaign with a draw, the pressure will be on Portugal when they face World Cup debutants Uzbekistan.

On paper, the Uzbekistan match should be the easiest tie for Portugal in the group – presenting the ideal opportunity for Ronaldo to get back to scoring ways.

But if he fails, he might have to watch the next matches from the sidelines, somewhat like a linesman!