Portugal Beat Norway 2-1 to Secure Second Straight UEFA Nations League Win - Tempo.co English
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Portugal secured their second consecutive UEFA Nations League victory by defeating Norway 2-1 in a Group A4 match at Ullevaal Stadion early Monday morning (WIB).
A blunder by Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland led to the winning goal for Portugal, scored by Goncalo Ramos in the second half.
Portugal took the lead through Joao Felix, while Norway equalized via Erling Haaland in the second half.
This victory puts Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates at the top of Group A4 with six points, while Norway sits in second place with three points.
Denmark holds third place after beating Wales 2-0, whereas Wales has yet to earn a point from two matches, according to the UEFA website.
Ronaldo started on the bench as coach Jorge Jesus opted for Goncalo Ramos to lead Portugal's attack.
Portugal threatened first through a header by Joao Neves. Norway responded with a first-time shot from Haaland that was parried by Diogo Costa at the near post.
Portugal opened the scoring in the 17th minute. Joao Felix received a cut-back from Pedro Neto at the edge of the penalty area before firing a precise shot into the bottom left corner, beyond Nyland's reach.
Haaland equalized in the 51st minute. Costa failed to deal with a free-kick from Martin Odegaard; Patrick Berg headed the rebound into the path of Haaland, who finished to make it 1-1.
Nyland committed a costly error three minutes later when his pass was intercepted by Ramos, who took a few steps forward before chipping the ball over Nyland to restore Portugal's lead at 2-1.
Portugal nearly extended their lead after Rafael Leao came on as a substitute; his shot deflected off Fredrik Aursnes and struck the crossbar.
Ramos thought he had scored his second goal after latching onto a long ball from Costa, but it was disallowed for offside.
Norway: Orjan Nyland; Julian Ryerson, Kristoffer Ajer, Torbjorn Heggem, Fredrik Aursnes; Martin Odegaard, Sander Berge, Patrick Berg; Andreas Schjeldrup, Erling Haaland, Antonio Nusa.
