Ronaldo benched for tactical reasons, says Jesus

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Jorge Jesus insisted it was a “tactical choice” to leave Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench during Portugal’s Nations League victory over Norway.

Portugal won 2-1 on Sunday at Ullevaal Stadion after goals from Joao Felix and Goncalo Ramos, which came either side of a strike from Erling Haaland.

Joao Felix has now scored six goals in his last 11 games as a starter for Portugal as he continues to thrive under Jesus, whom he also worked under at Al-Nassr.

Jesus’ side struggled for much of the contest, accumulating just 1.04 expected goals (xG) after being restricted to just 38% of possession, while Norway registered 2.52 xG from 22 shots.

Nevertheless, Portugal continued their perfect start to their Nations League title defence, even with Ronaldo unable to get minutes off the bench.

“It wasn’t the right moment to bring Ronaldo into the game; it was a tactical choice,” said Jesus on the matter.

“I needed a player with different characteristics, but that doesn’t mean he’s out of the options. Perhaps he’ll play against Denmark.”

— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) September 27, 2026

Haaland posed the biggest threat to Portugal’s win; the Manchester City striker led the match in shots (eight) and was responsible for 1.5 of Norway’s xG tally.

Although Haaland managed to score, Jesus was satisfied with the way his side defended against Norway.

“It was an excellent victory because we played against one of the best teams in Europe right now. They are in the top five, like Portugal,” added Jesus.

“They have a striker who can score at any moment. It’s incredible.

“Our back line, and especially the two centre-backs, with the help of Joao Palhinha and Ruben Neves when they moved into the defensive phase, were very strong in the central corridor. Even so, Haaland had seven shots inside the box and scored once.

“We were once again organised defensively and more creative offensively, also with the introduction of new players.

“Offensively, we still lack ideas, there isn’t yet a collective effort. It’s normal: I haven’t had time for that.”

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