Portugal shrugged off the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and turned on the style to win 4-2 in Denmark in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday, while Germany beat Serbia 2-0 to give Jurgen Klopp his first win as coach.
The controversy surrounding Ronaldo’s departure from the Portugal squad on Wednesday overshadowed the match in Copenhagen, with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s future in international football now in serious doubt.
Portugal coach Jorge Jesus said before kick-off that he just wanted his side “to focus on the match”, and they did not appear distracted as they scored some superb goals to win the Group A4 clash at the Parken Stadium.
AC Milan striker Goncalo Ramos scored Portugal’s winner in Norway on Sunday after being preferred to Ronaldo in attack, and on Thursday, he set up Joao Cancelo for Portugal’s early opener before getting their second goal on 25 minutes.
Mikkel Damsgaard curled in a fine goal in between for Denmark, and Rasmus Hojlund scored their second equaliser shortly after half-time.
However, Vitinha headed in a superb Bruno Fernandes cross to put Portugal back in front midway through the second half, and Joao Felix – a club colleague of Ronaldo’s at Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia – finished off a superb move to seal Portugal’s victory.
Portugal, who are the defending Nations League champions, are top of the group with the maximum nine points from three games before entertaining Norway in Porto on Sunday.
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Klopp’s first two matches in charge of Germany had ended in a draw in the Netherlands and a defeat at home to Greece, but it was third time lucky as his side saw off Serbia in Munich.
Bayern Munich’s Tom Bischof, playing at home, opened the scoring late in the first half and Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz sealed the win with a brilliantly-taken goal just past the hour mark.
“The mix of football and attitude was top level today. I told the boys that this has to be our benchmark,” Klopp said after the game.
Germany’s next game is away in Greece, who top Group A2 with seven points from three outings after a 2-2 draw at home to the Netherlands in Thessaloniki on Thursday.
Friday sees Zinedine Zidane’s homecoming as he leads France out on home soil for the first time in their match with Italy.
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