Portugal beat Denmark in Copenhagen to extend Jorge Jesus’ winning start as national team manager.
It’s now three wins from three games in charge of his country for the 72-year-old. Most known for his two spells at Benfica, Jesus actually managed Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr for one year between July 2025 and July 2026. And yet, CR7 decided to leave Portugal’s camp following friction with the head coach.
The 41-year-old forward started in Portugal’s 1-0 win over Wales to start the international break. Though it was by far their worst collective performance so far. And Ronaldo himself had a particularly poor game, attempting seven shots and missing one sitter worth 0.50 xG.
As a result, Jesus benched him and went with Goncalo Ramos against Norway. The Milan striker made the difference right away and scored the winner three minutes after Erling Haaland had equalised for the Vikings.
And against Denmark, Ramos assisted the first and scored the second goal as Portugal won 4-2.
What did Goncalo Ramos’ do for Portugal against Denmark that Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t anymore?
Ramos is by no means the ‘technical’ type of striker. But he is much more adequate for Jorge Jesus’ brand of football than Ronaldo at this point in his career.
Despite not being his strength, Ramos had an involvement in the first and second goals from Portugal in associative play. Both of them came after quick and smart one-twos.
The first with him playing the pass for Joao Cancelo and the second receiving from Bruno Fernandes after a beautiful backheel flick for the Man United playmaker.
In fact, Ramos’ assist was not the only time the striker set a teammate up. Again, not his best attribute and not what strikers usually do, but a role that the current system requires and he adapted well.
This also highlights the difference in philosophy from Jesus and his predecessor, Roberto Martinez. The Spaniard coached a much more positionally rigid style in possession, with greater distances between the players.
Watching Portugal now, it screams off the screen how closer together the players are. They showed plenty of different mechanisms to get out from the back with short passing only to find a runner in behind. The fourth and final goal being the best example.
They are much more incisive whenever they have the ball. It’s no coincidence that, without Ronaldo, they had 38% possession against Norway and 46% against Denmark – winning both and creating better chances than they did against Wales – a worse opponent – while having 62% possession.
Now back to the comparison, Ronaldo’s last assist for Portugal was 17 games and nearly two years ago. Back in November 2024 against Polonia.
Secondly, Ramos created three chances in Copenhagen. It’s the same amount CR7 has created in his last eight appearances combined for his country. And the last time the 41-year-old set teammates up three different times in a single game was in September 2024, against Croatia.
But there is also the attacking side of things. Ronaldo may still be a better finisher than Ramos, but the Milan man is much more active with his movement. He provides midfielders and wingers with passing options and his constant runs make it more difficult for defences to keep track of him.
He had three clear-cut goalscoring opportunities vs. Denmark, a number Ronaldo last achieved six games ago – in the last friendly before the World Cup. Ramos did miss two of them, but getting them in the first place is a merit in itself.
In fact, Ramos averages 2.1 big chances, 0.74 expected goals and 36.6 touches per 90 minutes in five games for Portugal across the 2026 World Cup and the current Nations League. Ronaldo made six appearances in those same tournaments and, excluding penalties, averages 1.1 big chances, 0.35 xG and 29.2 touches per 90.
It looked like the 2022 World Cup had already shown Ronaldo’s future with the national team didn’t look too promising. He did end the 2026 edition with three goals in five matches, but it was a penalty against Croatia after being mostly uninvolved and a brace in a 5-0 win over Uzbekistan in the group stage.
Jorge Jesus appears to have a similar opinion and might be doing the same thing he did to Neymar at Al-Hilal. According to his own words, he told the Brazilian star he was finished. In the manager’s eyes, by the looks of it, Ronaldo too.