Why Cristiano Ronaldo Was Left on the Bench for Portugal vs. Norway

Jorge Jesus became the first Portugal national team manager in two years to name Cristiano Ronaldo as a substitute for Sunday’s Nations League clash with Norway. The veteran coach took the even rarer approach of leaving his country’s all-time top scorer on the bench throughout a 2–1 win due to the flow of the contest-much to the surprise, and distaste it would appear, of his compatriot.

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The millstone of Ronaldo has hung around the neck of Portugal for years. At 41, almost four years since he last featured in one of Europe’s top five leagues, the increasingly immobile striker has become more of a hindrance than a help for many national team coaches.

Fernando Santos had to win the 2016 European Championship-the nation’s first major title-before he had the courage and gravitas to bench Ronaldo during the 2022 World Cup. The legendary forward’s replacement, Gonçalo Ramos, scored a hat trick against Switzerland in the round of 16, and even though Portugal were eliminated in the quarterfinals a new era beckoned. But not for Ronaldo.

Santos promptly moved on, making way for Roberto Martínez who would prove to be stubbornly infatuated with the aging frontman. Ronaldo dutifully started 35 of the 37 caps he won under the Spanish coach, including each and every fixture at this summer’s World Cup.

After another disappointingly early exit, Martínez was replaced by Jesus. The 72-year-old arrived with a reputation as his compatriot’s former Al Nassr manager and insisted that having a player as prolific as Ronaldo would “never be a problem.” Yet, Jesus has proven to be no mindless puppet-although, as he is quickly discovering, that does come with a few problems.

Jesus Explains Why Ronaldo Watched Portugal Beat Norway From the Sidelines

Jesus had publicly teased the prospect of naming Ronaldo among the substitutes for Portugal’s difficult clash with Norway in Oslo. In private, he explicitly told his captain that his minutes would only come in the second half.

“Before the game, I said, ‘You won’t start, but I’ll put you in during the match,'” Jesus revealed postmatch. “But soccer dictates things; in this case, it didn’t justify switching to a center forward with Cris’s characteristics-especially knowing we have a game against Denmark coming up.”

Portugal’s 2–1 win over Norway was constantly in the balance. João Félix deftly put the visitors in front in the 17th minute but Erling Haaland had a glut of chances to equalize long before he eventually leveled the score five minutes after the restart. Ramos, the man to replace Ronaldo once again, soon punctured Norway’s burgeoning momentum by pouncing upon a goalkeeping howler from Ørjan Nyland.

Jesus’s side ceded possession and territory across the closing half-hour as they held on to a slender advantage. Rather than turning to Ronaldo, Ramos was replaced by Trincão, a natural winger to try to stretch Norway on the counter with the sort of pace his senior teammate has lacked for several years.

“Every match requires a specific strategy, and I have to choose the best players for that game,” Jesus added. “Cris didn’t play today because the match changed my plans; my idea was for him to play in the second half, but given the score, I didn’t think it was the right moment to put him in.”

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Will Ronaldo Feature in Portugal’s Next Match vs. Denmark?

Jesus benched Ronaldo but he hasn’t retired him just yet. “The fact is, just because he didn’t play doesn’t mean I’m not counting on him. I am counting on him,” the manager insisted.

Portugal has to hop across Scandinavia to take on Denmark this Thursday evening and Jesus has opened the door to Ronaldo’s return.

“That doesn’t mean he [Ronaldo] won’t play against Denmark, though,” he claimed. “Just as I made four changes today, I might make four or five against Denmark.”

‘I Need to Speak With Him’-Ronaldo’s Snub of Portugal Fans

One nagging issue for Jesus was the surprising news that Ronaldo did not applaud Portugal’s traveling fans after the final whistle. The manager had not seen his captain head straight down the tunnel and promised to investigate the situation before coming to any conclusion.

“His absence during the acknowledgment? I take people’s word for it, but I didn’t even notice. Only he can answer that,” Jesus initially replied when this incident was put to him.

“I need to speak with him, but I know him well,” he continued. “The national team belongs to all of us, and he, as captain … I can’t answer for his mindset; I’d only know after speaking with him.”

This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Cristiano Ronaldo Was Left on the Bench for Portugal vs. Norway.

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This story was originally published September 28, 2026 at 3:30 AM.