Cristiano Ronaldo row dismissed by Portugal players

Portugal’s players have insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo’s dispute with coach Jorge Jesus did not disrupt the national team. Ronaldo left the squad after learning he would not start against Denmark, following his unused-substitute role against Norway, but the controversy did not prevent Portugal from producing their strongest performance of the Nations League campaign.

Portugal won 4-2 in Denmark, recording a third victory in three matches. João Cancelo opened the scoring after combining with Gonçalo Ramos, who again made an impact as Ronaldo’s replacement and has now scored in both of his starts under Jesus. Bruno Fernandes captained the side and helped create Portugal’s second goal, headed in by Vitinha.

Francisco Trincão said the squad had focused on its duty to represent Portugal, while Ramos said the players wanted to win every match and were unaffected by the Ronaldo story. Vitinha also described the performance as a product of concentrating solely on the game. Portugal were not dominant in possession, with 46 per cent, but their pressing and attacking movement caused Denmark problems despite some defensive difficulties in transition.

Jesus said the situation had not divided the group and praised the players’ belief in his methods. Portugal now turn to Sunday’s meeting with Norway in Porto, again without Ronaldo, with their perfect Nations League record intact.