Ronaldo stays on the bench, an 18-year record broken
On Sunday evening, Portugal beat Norway 2-1 in the Nations League, but Cristiano Ronaldo, left on the bench by Jorge Jesus from the kickoff, did not get involved, marking the first time in more than eighteen years that he does not play an official match outside a friendly.
A historic bench
This situation had not occurred in an official match outside a friendly since June 15, 2008, when Portugal lost 0-2 to Switzerland in the Euro group stage. It had only been observed once more, on June 21, 2006, in the World Cup group stage against Mexico (2-1). More recently, on June 8, 2024, Ronaldo remained on the bench against Croatia, but that was a friendly, the only one in his career where he did not play.
Match details
Portugal opened the scoring in the 17th minute thanks to João Félix, who beat Ørjan Nyland after a fine run down the left side. Norway equalised in the 51st minute, Erling Haaland converting a cross from Patrick Berg on a corner from Martin Ødegaard. Gonçalo Ramos restored the lead in the 54th minute by capitalising on a mistake by the Norwegian goalkeeper.
Ramos nearly doubled his tally shortly afterwards, his second goal being ruled out for off‑side after video review. Diogo Costa kept the Portuguese goal intact until the end, holding off late Norwegian pressure.
Portugal beats Norway without even a minute for Ronaldo
“Every moment is important,” Gonçalo Ramos told Sport TV.
Ronaldo's statistics
The record holder for caps and goals with the Seleçao has 234 caps and 146 goals. In total, he has amassed 979 career goals, including 833 for his clubs, putting him 21 goals short of the 1,000‑goal milestone. His 1,000‑goal target will have to wait for his return to the squad.
Portugal therefore collected six points from its first two matches in Group A4 of the Nations League, consolidating its position in the group. Ronaldo, included in the squad, is expected to return to the national team for the match against Denmark on October 1, then for the return fixture against Norway on October 4.
Jorge Jesus explains why Ronaldo stayed on the bench against Norway
If the tally remains stalled during this international window, he can still chase the milestone with Al Nassr, whose next clash is against Al Diriyah on October 9 in the Saudi Pro League.