Jorge Jesus vowed that the saga surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo “will not divide” his Portugal side after they claimed a superb 4-2 win over Denmark in Copenhagen without their record goalscorer.
Ronaldo sensationally left the squad this week after a dispute with Jesus, seemingly bringing an end to his storied international career.
The apparent breakdown in the relationship between Jesus and Ronaldo overshadowed the build-up to Thursday’s UEFA Nations League game in Copenhagen, but it had no influence on an excellent attacking display from Portugal.
After beating Norway 2-1 with a disgruntled Ronaldo left on the bench, Portugal went ahead in the 13th minute through Joao Cancelo.
Mikkel Damsgaard equalised with a sublime curling strike 10 minutes later, only for Goncalo Ramos to give Portugal the lead again soon after.
Rasmus Hojlund drew Denmark level for the second time eight minutes into the second half, but Vitinha’s first goal for Portugal restored their advantage once more, before Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr team-mate Joao Felix added a fourth late on to secure a third win from three games for the defending Nations League champions.
Portugal will next face Norway in Porto on Sunday in their final fixture of an extended international break, and Jesus made it clear the squad will remain united despite the fallout from the Ronaldo episode.
Asked if the players are behind him, Jesus told Sport TV: “There’s no reason for them not to be behind me.
“What matters is what we have to do. I know why you asked that question, but things happen—they don’t divide the team, and they won’t divide us.”
Vitinha hails Jesus after Portugal’s latest win
Speaking to RTP, Vitinha backed up his coach’s comments, praising Jesus for his influence on their excellent start to the Nations League.
“Because of the coach’s work,” Vitinha said when asked for reasons for the improvements made in Jesus’ first three games in charge.
“The truth is, we played an excellent game—there’s no denying it. It’s very hard to win here. We learned that lesson last year or two years ago. We lost, and it was really tough. Don’t be fooled by the result. Beyond the result, it was the performance. It was our best so far.
“We’ve been improving over these last three games. The more time we spend with the coach, the more we absorb his ideas and develop more dynamic play. Defensively, we’ve always been strong and capable. We’ve taken a step forward on offense. I hope we continue this way. It was a very hard-fought victory. It’s important to say that—it’s tough to play here. Beyond the win, it was an excellent performance.
“The coach’s work is starting to pay off. You can see it—it was crystal clear today. Fortunately, things are going well, and that’s how we want to keep it up. Now, we just need to tell everyone to pack the Dragao so we can make it four wins in a row, which would be perfect.”
On the situation with Ronaldo, Vitinha added: “We tried to stay out of it. We focused on the game and succeeded. We responded incredibly well. Congratulations to the whole team for that.”
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