Ronaldo-less Portugal reach Nations League quarters

Portugal defeated Norway 2-1 without sulking superstar striker Cristiano Ronaldo on Sunday to qualify for the Nations League quarter-finals. Goncalo Ramos secured victory for Jorge Jesus's Portugal in the Group A4 clash after Joao Cancelo's rocket levelled Kristoffer Ajer's stunning opener for Norway. Portugal played out the final minutes with 10 men after Francisco Conceicao was dismissed for two yellow cards in the space of a few seconds for dissent after he appealed for a penalty unsuccessfully. Former Real Madrid and Manchester United striker Ronaldo walked out on the squad on Wednesday ahead of the previous game against Denmark, after Portugal's all-time top goalscorer learned he would not start. Portugal are now guaranteed to finish in the top two spots in the group, thus granting them passage to the last eight in March 2027. Norway took the lead in Porto against the run of play with a stunning effort from Brentford defender Ajer after 36 minutes. The Norwegian met a bouncing ball on the edge of the box perfectly to bend it into the top corner. However two minutes later Barcelona defender Cancelo scored a similarly superb goal, rifling home from around 20 yards. Manchester City striker Erling Haaland fired across the face of goal after an hour and was replaced by Jorgen Strand Larsen a few minutes later. Nations League holders and two-time record champions Portugal nosed in front when AC Milan striker Ramos, starting in place of Ronaldo, tucked home from close range after being teed up by Joao Felix. Conceicao's foolish dismissal left Jesus's team in a tough spot for the final few minutes but they held on to triumph for the fourth time in four games in the group. (AFP) Edited by Cecil Wong

2026-10-05 07:26:00