Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo completed a rare 90 minutes on Portugal’s bench on Sunday as coach Jorge Jesus explained why he abandoned plans to introduce the captain during their 2-1 victory over Norway in the UEFA Nations League.
Ronaldo was named among the substitutes in Oslo but did not feature, making it only the third time in his international career that he has remained an unused substitute for Portugal.
The previous occasions were against Switzerland at Euro 2008 and Croatia in a friendly in June 2024. Sunday’s match was his first competitive appearance on the bench without playing since the 2008 European Championship.
Jesus revealed after the match that he had initially planned to bring Ronaldo on for the final 30 minutes but changed his mind as the game unfolded.
“I was thinking of bringing him on, maybe for the last half-hour, but then the game dictates other things. I felt it wasn’t the moment to bring him on,” the coach said.
Jesus explained that Gonçalo Ramos’ performance influenced the decision, with the forward scoring Portugal’s winning goal and having another effort ruled out for offside.
The coach said he did not want to disrupt the attack while Ramos was playing well, adding that the closing stages called for changes aimed at maintaining the team’s balance and protecting the result.
He also dismissed concerns about Ronaldo’s fitness, insisting the forward was capable of playing for as long as required.
Ronaldo had started Portugal’s opening Nations League fixture against Wales, playing nearly 70 minutes in the 1-0 victory.
Jesus said the short recovery period between the two matches influenced his decision not to start the 41-year-old in consecutive games, explaining that Portugal wanted to manage his involvement across four fixtures during the international break.
Portugal took the lead against Norway through João Félix in the 17th minute before Erling Haaland equalised in the 51st.
Ramos restored Portugal’s advantage three minutes later, capitalising on a goalkeeping error to secure the visitors’ second consecutive victory.
The result moved Portugal to six points from two matches at the top of Group A4, while Norway remained on three points.
Ronaldo’s absence was unusual, but Jesus’ explanation made clear that the decision was driven by the match situation and Portugal’s plans for managing the captain’s minutes.
