Ramos scores instead of Ronaldo, another controversy in the Ireland-Israel match
Norway, which caused a sensation at the World Cup, lost three times in a row and fell to the last place, Erling Haaland was unable to finish the match against Portugal; Klopp's Germany, which achieved only one victory in the starting four matches, may also be left out of the group.
Ramos scores instead of Ronaldo, another controversy in the Ireland-Israel match
Portugal – Norway 2:1
Ajer, 36 (0:1). João Cancelo, 38 (1:1). Ramos, 79 (2:1)
Portugal prevailed over Norway with a 2:1 scoreline in their second head-to-head meeting as well. Scandinavia's head coach Ståle Solbakken had replaced goalkeeper Nyland due to gross errors made in previous matches, but even this did not yield results. In fact, Norway had taken the lead thanks to Martin Ødegaard's pass and Ajer winning the battle for the ball to unleash a fantastic shot, but the Portuguese made a comeback. Two minutes after the opening goal, Jorge Jesus's men surprised the opponent by taking advantage of a throw-in: Mendes passed the ball not into the penalty area, but to João Cancelo who was standing outside, and he directed it precisely into the top corner of the goal.
The Norwegians had a good opportunity to take the lead in the second half, but Erling Haaland's shot, after he prevailed in a battle against Rúben Dias, did not hit the target. He felt severe fatigue during the second half and asked to be substituted.
Portugal, on the other hand, took advantage of their opportunity: in the 79th minute, Vitinha delivered the ball to João Félix, who presented himself in the penalty area, and he passed it with one touch to Gonçalo Ramos, who was in a more favorable position, and the player who became the main striker in place of Ronaldo finished the attack brilliantly. According to statistics, when this player scores, Portugal is guaranteed to win (11 out of 11).
At the end of the match, the referee did not award a penalty to either goal, and Francisco Conceição left the pitch after receiving two yellow cards within one minute for arguing with the referee. However, Norway could not exploit the numerical advantage in the remaining minutes and fell to the last place in the group. Portugal won their fourth match under the management of Jorge Jesus, in three of which the services of Cristiano Ronaldo were not needed.