NATIONS LEAGUE: PORTUGAL BEAT NORWAY 2-1 AS RONALDO WATCHES FROM BENCH

September 27, 2026

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By: Muftau Fatimo

Portugal secured a 2-1 victory over Norway in the Nations League on Sunday, with captain Cristiano Ronaldo remaining an unused substitute throughout the encounter.

João Félix opened the scoring for Portugal with his second goal in as many matches before Norway responded early in the second half through Erling Haaland.

The strike was Haaland’s 65th international goal for Norway and his 22nd in the Nations League, extending his record as the competition’s leading scorer.

Portugal quickly regained the lead after Norway goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland gifted possession to Gonçalo Ramos, who calmly chipped the goalkeeper to make it 2-1.

Ramos came close to adding another but fired wide, while Rafael Leão saw a deflected effort strike the crossbar.

Ramos appeared to have scored again later in the match, but VAR ruled out the goal for offside following another error by Nyland.

Ronaldo, 41, watched the entire match from the bench as he continued his pursuit of 1,000 career goals. The Portugal captain remains 21 goals short of the landmark.

Portugal were also without Bruno Fernandes, who missed the encounter through injury.

The result handed Portugal their second victory in as many matches in this season’s Nations League campaign, while Norway were left to rue a series of costly errors from their goalkeeper.