Portugal beat Norway to reach the Nations League quarter-finals

Portugal beat Norway 2-1 on Sunday in the Nations League. The result, a fourth win in as many matches, sends the Portuguese through to the quarter-finals and makes them the first team to qualify. They earned the victory at home without Cristiano Ronaldo, maintaining a perfect record in a competition they hold the title in.

With 12 points, Jorge Jesus’s team is guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals, scheduled for March, with two group matches still to play. Portugal will host Denmark on 14 November before travelling to Wales on the 17th. Those fixtures will not alter the fact that qualification is already secured.

The win came after several days of turbulence surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo. The 41-year-old forward announced on Wednesday that he had left the national-team camp after learning at a press conference that Jorge Jesus was considering leaving him on the bench for a second consecutive match.

Portugal’s record appearance-maker and top scorer has 234 appearances and 146 goals for the national team. A winner of Euro 2016 and the Nations Leagues in 2019 and 2025, he has promised to explain his departure. He has not, so far, announced his retirement from international football. Portugal, meanwhile, continued without him and can approach the end of the group stage with its quarter-final place already assured.