Ronaldo benched as Portugal beat Norway on goals from Ramos and Felix in Nations League
Portugal beat Norway 2-1 in Oslo on Sunday in their second UEFA Nations League fixture, making it two wins from two, while Cristiano Ronaldo remained an unused substitute throughout the match. Erling Haaland scored for Norway, but it wasn't enough to salvage a point.
Match summary
In a UEFA Nations League Group A4 fixture at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, Portugal claimed a 2-1 win to extend their unbeaten run in the competition. Joao Felix opened the scoring for the visitors, netting his second goal in as many games. Early in the second half, Norway's Erling Haaland tapped in from close range to equalise — his 65th international goal and 22nd in the Nations League, extending his record as the competition's all-time top scorer. Norway's joy was short-lived, however: after a serious error by goalkeeper Orjan Nyland, Goncalo Ramos chipped the ball home to make it 2-1. Ramos later fired another chance wide, while Rafael Leao's deflected effort struck the crossbar. A further Ramos goal was disallowed by VAR for offside following another Nyland mistake.
Ronaldo stays on the bench
Much of the attention centred on 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, who was named among the substitutes and never entered the pitch. According to AFP, it was the first time since a Nations League game against Scotland in September 2024 that Ronaldo was left out of Portugal's starting XI in this competition. It was only the second match in charge for new Portugal coach Jorge Jesus, following Thursday's win over Wales. Ronaldo continues his pursuit of 1,000 career goals; per the BBC, he still needs 21 more to reach that milestone. Portugal were also without captain Bruno Fernandes, left out through injury — Jesus said he preferred not to risk the midfielder, who had reportedly been playing through pain in recent matches.
Context
Both sides opened their campaigns with wins: Portugal beat Wales 1-0 at home, while Norway edged a thrilling 3-2 victory over Denmark, in which Haaland scored twice. Per Al Jazeera, the two nations have met 11 times overall, with Norway winning once, Portugal winning eight, and two draws; their last meeting was a 2016 friendly in Porto, won 3-0 by Portugal. Portugal are the two-time defending Nations League champions, while Norway reached an unexpected World Cup quarterfinal this year. Sources gave slightly differing kickoff times — Al Jazeera cited 18:45 GMT, while another report referenced a local kickoff roughly an hour later — so the exact start time is not fully consistent across sources.
