Portugal suffered a humbling defeat in their first match since Cristiano Ronaldo's retirement, as they were thrashed 4-1 by Denmark in the Nations League.
Match Report
Rasmus Hojlund scored a brace in the second half after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg opened the scoring from the penalty spot, and Joachim Andersen wrapped up the victory with a brilliant header at Estadio Municipal de Braga.
After a strong start from Denmark, which saw Hojlund, Hojbjerg and Mohamed Daramy all squander opportunities, the visitors broke the deadlock two minutes before the break after Ruben Dias blocked a header from Hojlund with his hands, allowing Hojbjerg to fire in from 12 yards out.
Hojlund then doubled Denmark's lead four minutes after the restart, volleying past a helpless Diogo Costa after a scooped pass from Mikkel Damsgaard, before showing brilliant skill to dribble past Renato Veiga and pick out the bottom-right corner before the hour.
Portugal would fall further behind in the 75th minute, with Andersen sending a bullet header into the top corner after a pinpoint cross from substitute Mathias Jensen.
Jorge Jesus' side tried to at least score a consolation, and they got one in the 93rd minute as Bernardo Silva scored on the rebound from close range after Joao Neves' initial effort was kept out by Mads Hermansen.
Nightmare start for Jesus' new era
Jesus would have hoped for a win to settle any doubts surrounding the national team following Ronaldo's retirement from international football, but instead his worst fears came true, with Portugal's attack stuttering in a big defeat.
Portugal accumulated just 1.26 expected goals (xG) from their 15 shots, with 0.39 of their total coming from Silva's goal, which was the last kick of the game, while Goncalo Ramos did not record a single shot.
Joao Felix, Pedro Neto and Bruno Fernandes all recorded just one shot each, with substitutes Joao Palhinha (two) and Trincao (three) the only Portugal players to record multiple attempts in this contest.
Hojlund, meanwhile, impressed at the other end. He led Denmark in shots (five), recording 0.64 of their 2.33 xG, completed 100% of his passes (7/7) and won the most aerial duels (3/7).
Damsgaard and Gustav Isaksen created three chances each, while Daramy won 11 of his 13 duels in a stellar team performance from Denmark, who took a huge step towards reaching the quarter-finals.
Denmark will need just a draw against Norway in their final group match on Tuesday to reach the last eight of the Nations League.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
0' Highlight from Portugal vs Denmark
6' Highlight from Portugal vs Denmark
7' Match Event for Portugal vs Denmark
7' Highlight from Portugal vs Denmark
19' Highlight from Portugal vs Denmark
30' Match Event for Portugal vs Denmark
37' Match Event for Portugal vs Denmark
38' Match Event for Portugal vs Denmark
39' Highlight from Portugal vs Denmark
43' Penalty Goal! Portugal 0-1 Denmark (Pierre-Emile Højbjerg)
50' GOAL! Portugal 0-2 Denmark
53' Highlight from Portugal vs Denmark
55' Match Event for Portugal vs Denmark
57' GOAL! Portugal 0-3 Denmark (Rasmus Højlund)
64' Match Event for Portugal vs Denmark
65' Highlight from Portugal vs Denmark
75' GOAL! Portugal 0-4 Denmark (Joachim Andersen)
77' Match Event for Portugal vs Denmark
80' Highlight from Portugal vs Denmark
90' Highlight from Portugal vs Denmark
93' GOAL! Portugal 1-4 Denmark
Line-ups
Portugal XI: Neves, Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Dias, Diogo Costa, Dalot, Felix, Pedro Neto, Vitinha, Gonçalo Ramos, Renato Veiga, Alberto Costa
Subs: Rui Silva, Palhinha, Bernardo Silva, Francisco Trincão, Fábio Silva, Samuel Soares, Nazinho, Carlos Forbs, António Silva, João Neves, Rodrigo Mora, Geovany Quenda
Denmark XI: Hojbjerg, Andersen, Joakim Maehle, Alexander Bah, Mikkel Damsgaard, Morten Hjulmand, Mohamed Daramy, Gustav Isaksen, Mads Hermansen, Oliver Provstgaard, Højlund
Subs: Mathias Jensen, Rasmus Nicolaisen, Rasmus Nissen Kristensen, Victor Nelsson, Olsen, Jesper Lindstrøm, Jørgensen, Mads Bidstrup, Andreas Jungdal, Victor Bak, William Osula, Victor Froholdt
Amgnonijunior
96
If Ronaldo was on the pitch today, they would have put the blame on him. Now that he didn’t play who will you all blame again?
jioacimrsy
76
Even Barcelona and Messi fans started supporting Portugal just to prove Ronaldo wrong. 😂
hudaekmpsu
69
Portugal welcome back to where you belong
Edooo87
21
Ronaldo retired and Portugal started playing like retirement was contagious
addition
19
You can find every gif of nice goals here: https://www.matchgif.com/v2/live/matchGifs?match_id=54419558&language=en
Skytyge
11
We all love Ronaldo right
MrFuckcess
10
EmeraldJ
10
They've never seen anything yet. Thrashed 1-4 at home? When was the last time Portugal lost with such margin? The "FEAR" factor is gone. They will learn in a hard way.
Shmonny
9
No Ronaldo No Party 😀
caslmnoprz
8
If Ronaldo was on the pitch today, they would have put the blame on him. Now that he didn’t play who will you all blame again?
[image]
They will still blame Ronaldo. They might say that they have not moved on since he retired abruptly. They will say they were overwhelmed by emotions.