Portugal didn’t miss the services of their star striker Cristiano Ronaldo who left the national camp abruptly after a fall-off with head coach Jorge Jesus
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Cristiano Ronaldo had an ugly fall-off with head coach Jorge Jesus but that didn’t affect Portugal’s result against Norway(Photo: X)
Many football fans have been wondering as to what would happen to the Portuguese national side after star striker Cristiano Ronaldo officially left the camp following a fall-off with head coach Jorge Jesus, but the European Selecao enjoyed their first outing without the five-time Ballon d’or winner, beating Erling Haaland’s Norway 2-1 on matchday four of the UEFA Nations League.
The on-going FIFA international window has made plenty of headlines for several stories around the globeFirst are the friendly matches between the Indian national team and three FIFA World Cup 2026 playing nations – Panama, Brazil and Uruguay.
Second is the farewell match of Argentina legend and eight-time Ballon d’or winner Lionel Messi on Tuesday, October 6 and third is the rift between Cristiano Ronaldo and newly appointed Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus.
Less than six months ago, the duo were working closely to help end Al-Nassr’s drought to win the Saudi Pro League last season and just a few months since then (May 2026), in the national side, Jesus and Ronaldo do not appear to be on the same page.
It all started after Jorge Jesus refused to let Cristiano Ronaldo in, as a substitute, for Portugal’s game against Norway despite asking the latter to warm up for nearly 30 minutes on the touchlineThat infuriated Ronaldo who left the field visibly frustrated as an unused subThe tensions started to spark then and there itself.
A private meeting was then called by the Portuguese federation president Pedro Proenca who reportedly sorted it out between the two, with Jorge Jesus even agreeing to publicly apologise for the mismanagement.
However, things took a different turn after Jesus expressed his displeasure with Cristiano Ronaldo’s attitude before claiming that he will have the final say in national team matters regardless of how big any player becomes.
What followed was Ronaldo choosing to leave the national camp in Copenhagen, before Portugal’s clash against Denmark, to join his family at Spain before flying to Saudi Arabia for club duties.
Joao Cancelo and Goncalo Ramos star in Portugal’s win
Without Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal won back-to-back three matches with their latest coming against Norway who have now lost to the same opposition twice in the space of seven days.
Kristoffer Ajer goal against Portugal! https://t.co/Avbe2SXycV
— The Moment Football (@themomentfooty) October 4, 2026
The 2016 European champions dominated possession throughout the contest and produced a total of 21 shots with eight on targetDespite dominating the ball, it was the Norwegian side that took the lead in the 36th minute through Kristoffer Ajer’s sensational strike but Norway’s lead was cancelled two minutes later by Joao Cancelo.
Joao Cancelo goal vs Norway in UEFA Nations Leaguehttps://t.co/LTUcrUSDzH
— Daily Foot Vibes (@dailyfootvibes) October 5, 2026
In the second-half, Goncalo Ramos, who was consistently overlooked by former head coach Roberto Martinez at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, scored the winning goal in the 79th minute to help Portugal end the international window with three straight wins.
