Portugal coach Jorge Jesus has explained why Cristiano Ronaldo remained an unused substitute during his side’s 2-1 UEFA Nations League victory over Norway in Oslo on Sunday.
Ronaldo, 41, was named among the substitutes and was fit to feature, but watched the entire match from the bench as Gonçalo Ramos started in attack and scored the decisive goal.
Jesus revealed that he had initially planned to introduce Portugal’s captain during the match but eventually changed his mind because of how the contest developed.
“I was thinking of Cristiano to come in… but then the game dictates other things,” Jesus explained, according to comments reported by Fabrizio Romano.
The Portuguese coach stressed that Ronaldo’s omission was a tactical decision and had nothing to do with concerns over the veteran forward’s fitness.
“I felt it wasn’t the right time to put him in the game. There are still two more games, but it wasn’t to protect him physically. He was ready,” Jesus said.
Jesus also disclosed that he and Ronaldo had discussed a plan for the forward to enter the game for the final 30 minutes.
However, Ramos’ performance influenced the decision. The striker scored once and appeared to have added another before the effort was ruled out for offside, while Portugal also had to make changes aimed at maintaining their advantage.
The visitors eventually used all five permitted substitutions, with Vitinha, Rafael Leão, Rúben Neves, Francisco Trincão and Bernardo Silva among those introduced, but Ronaldo remained on the bench.
Jesus has not ruled out a return to the starting line-up for Ronaldo in Portugal’s next fixtures and indicated that the veteran could feature from the start against Denmark.
Portugal’s victory over Norway gave them consecutive wins in the Nations League and kept them at the top of their group.
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