Cristiano Ronaldo recorded a rare milestone in his long international career as Portugal earned a 2-1 victory over Norway in the UEFA Nations League. Despite being fit and warming up during the second half, the Portuguese captain watched the entire match from the substitutes’ bench. Cristiano Ronaldo and Vitinha benched for Portugal’s Nations League trip to Norway, Joao Neves starts OffsAIde.
This fixture marked the first instance in more than 18 years that Ronaldo failed to play a single minute in a competitive international fixture for Portugal while being fully available to play. The last time he sat out an entire official match while fit was on June 15, 2008, during Euro 2008 against Switzerland. On that occasion, manager Luiz Felipe Scolari rested key players after Portugal had already secured a place in the quarter-finals, leaving Ronaldo on the bench as Hakan Yakin scored twice to hand Switzerland a 2-0 win. When Portugal faced Switzerland in their final group-stage match at Euro 2008, the previous occasion came on 15 June 2008. With some high-profile deals due to expire at the end of next month.As speculation, predicting which clubs the summer’s biggest free agents will sign for There are still some massive names who are set to become free agents in the summer.
In every official international match since that 2008 fixture, Ronaldo had consistently been brought onto the pitch whenever he was initially named on the bench. His bench role against Norway represented a departure from a routine that lasted nearly two decades.
Addressing the press after the final whistle, Jorge Jesus stated that the decision to keep Ronaldo on the bench was purely tactical. Jesus explained that he had originally planned to introduce Ronaldo for the final 30 minutes of the match, but altered his strategy based on the strong performance of striker Gonçalo Ramos. Jesus emphasized that Ronaldo was fully fit and remains an integral part of the team’s ongoing plans. “It wasn’t the right moment to bring Ronaldo into the game; it was a tactical choice,” Jesus explained. Tottenham: Why James Maddison was not awarded a penalty against Leeds as Premier League issue statement Spurs midfielder denied a big moment on his return from injuryThe Premier League has explained why Tottenham were not awarded a penalty in their draw against Leeds.As the clock ticked.
Competitive Unused Appearances for National Team
- 2026: vs Norway (UEFA Nations League)
- 2024: vs Croatia (Friendly)
- 2008: vs Switzerland (UEFA Euro 2008)
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