Portugal, playing without superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr), defeated Denmark to claim its third consecutive victory in the UEFA Nations League (UNL).

Portugal defeated Denmark 4-2 in the third match of League A Group 4 of the 2026-2027 UNL held at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark, today (October 2, Korea time).

Having previously beaten Wales 1-0 at home in the first match and Norway 2-1 away in the second match, Portugal recorded its third straight win in the tournament.

Portugal has played its last two matches without Ronaldo, who had been the national team's main striker.

Ronaldo started in the match against Wales but was substituted early in the second half.

After sitting on the bench during the match against Norway, Ronaldo left the national team when Portugal coach Jorge Jesus announced before the Denmark match that he would not start him.

Coach Jesus denied rumors of a fallout with Ronaldo.

Ronaldo posted on Instagram, "After a conversation with the president of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) following the national team coach's press conference, I decided to leave the national team training camp."

Gonçalo Ramos filled the frontline position previously held by Ronaldo.


Ramos assisted on João Cancelo's opening goal.

After Denmark's Mikkel Damsgaard scored an equalizer in the 23rd minute of the first half, Ramos scored just two minutes later to put Portugal back ahead 2-1.

Although Rasmus Højlund scored another equalizer in the 8th minute of the second half, Portugal secured a two-goal victory with consecutive goals from Vitinha and João Félix.

Vitinha scored the winning goal in the 22nd minute of the second half by heading in a free kick from Bruno Fernandes, and João Félix sealed the victory in the 42nd minute of the second half with a right-footed one-touch shot from Diogo Dalot's cutback.

The symbolic number "7" jersey previously worn by Ronaldo went to Rafael Leão.

Leão started the match before being substituted for Francisco Trincão in the 18th minute of the second half.

In Group 2, Germany defeated Serbia 2-0 at home to secure its first victory under manager Jürgen Klopp.

Manager Klopp led his team to a win three matches after taking charge of the German national team.

Germany previously drew 1-1 with the Netherlands in its opening match and then lost 0-1 to Greece.

In the 39th minute of the first half, after Florian Wirtz's shot hit the right goalpost and bounced out, Tom Bischof followed up with another shot to score the opener.

In the 16th minute of the second half, Wirtz received a pass from Maximilian Mittelstädt, eluded a defender with a concise movement, and scored an additional goal with a right-footed shot.

Satisfied with the performance, manager Klopp said, "We will record it and make a video," adding, "What we showed today is exactly the kind of football we want to play."

In League B Group 3, Ireland drew 2-2 with Austria in Dublin.

The match was temporarily halted when citizens demanding a boycott of the match against Israel threw tennis balls painted with Palestinian flags onto the pitch.

A man holding a Palestinian flag also attempted to rush onto the field and was intercepted by security staff.

(Photo: Getty Images)