CORNERFLICK
Cristiano Ronaldo spent the whole of Portugal’s match against Norway on the bench, marking the first time since 2008 that he has not played at all in a competitive international.
Jesus leaves Ronaldo out of the XI
Jorge Jesus named Gonçalo Ramos as the starting striker and left Ronaldo among the substitutes. Unlike the many times Ronaldo has come on after half-time, he did not get on against Norway at any stage.
The last time Ronaldo was an unused substitute in a competitive game for Portugal was at Euro 2008, when they lost 2-0 to Switzerland in their final group match. He was in the squad that day but did not feature.
Rare bench role after Scotland cameo
Ronaldo had previously been used off the bench in September 2024 against Scotland, when he came on in the second half and scored Portugal’s winning goal in the 88th minute.
Jesus had said before the Norway match that Ronaldo had played about 70 minutes in the previous game against Wales and that he did not want him starting two matches in a row. He added that he planned to use Ronaldo across the four fixtures, even if some appearances were brief.