Defending champions Portugal secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Norway in their UEFA Nations League Group A4 encounter at the Ullevaal Stadion on Sunday, ending the hosts’ 14-match unbeaten run on home turf.
Seventh-ranked Portugal withstood early pressure before breaking the deadlock in the 17th minute. After Norway threatened through a dangerous effort by Erling Haaland, denied by goalkeeper Diogo Costa and a crucial diving block from Ruben Dias, it was Joao Felix who struck first.
Continuing his fine international form following a match-winning goal against Wales, Felix calmly slotted home from the edge of the area. Costa continued to frustrate the Norwegian attack through the remainder of the first half, keeping out two headers from Erling Haaland to maintain Portugal’s narrow advantage at the break.
Haaland scores but Portugal take all the points
Norway responded quickly after the restart, drawing level six minutes into the second half. Haaland reacted quickest inside the area to turn home close range, registering his 65th goal in 57 international appearances and maintaining his record of scoring in 16 of his last 17 competitive matches.
However, Norway’s lead was undone by a costly error from goalkeeper Orjan Nyland, whose wayward pass gifted possession directly to Goncalo Ramos. Ramos punished the mistake by lobbing the ball into an empty net in the 54th minute to restore the visitors’ lead. Ramos thought he had extended the lead five minutes later after beating Nyland to a through ball, but the effort was chalked off for offside.
Though Cristiano Ronaldo started on the bench, Portugal managed to close out the game and register an away win. The 2-1 triumph lifts Portugal to the top of Group A4 with back-to-back wins to start their campaign, marking their seventh victory in their last ten matches. Meanwhile, Norway remains on three points after suffering their ninth defeat in 12 matches against Portugal.
Earlier in the week, Portugal edged Wales by one goal to nil after Joao Felix scored the winner. Cristiano Ronaldo started the game before being benched for the whole 90 minutes against Norway. Portugal will face Denmark in the last match of the international break.
(With inputs from ANI)
