Portugal Beat Norway 2-1 as Nyland Blunder Overshadows Haaland Goal

Portugal beat Norway 2-1 in Oslo to make it two wins from two in the Nations League, with Joao Felix and Goncalo Ramos scoring either side of an Erling Haaland equaliser, while Cristiano Ronaldo stayed on the bench throughout.

Felix gave Portugal the lead in the 17th minute, finishing a slick move involving Nuno Mendes and Pedro Neto with a disguised effort past goalkeeper Orjan Nyland. Norway dominated possession afterwards and levelled five minutes into the second half, when Haaland tapped in from close range after Patrick Berg headed on a Martin Odegaard free-kick, taking his international tally to 65 goals in 57 appearances.

The equaliser lasted only three minutes. Nyland played a routine pass straight to Ramos, who chipped the stranded goalkeeper for his 12th international goal, and VAR later ruled out another Ramos effort from a similar Nyland error for offside. Head coach Jorge Jesus had left Ronaldo out of the starting lineup, only the second time he has not started for Portugal since the 2022 World Cup, and he did not come on. Portugal are now the only Group A4 side with six points, three clear of Norway and Denmark, and both the winner and runner-up of each League A group advance to the March 2027 quarter-finals.