Cristiano Ronaldo unused for Portugal in competitive match for first time in 18 years | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo remained an unused substitute as Portugal won 2-1 in Norway in the Nations League on Sunday. It was his first competitive match without minutes in a little over 18 years, after Jorge Jesus left him on the bench.

L'Équipe points out this scenario is exceptionally rare for Portugal.

It had not happened in a non-friendly since 15 June 2008, when Portugal lost 0-2 to Switzerland in the Euro group stage. Previously, the only other occurrence was 21 June 2006 against Mexico in the World Cup group, a 2-1 win.

More recently, on 8 June 2024, he stayed on the bench in a 1-2 friendly defeat to Croatia, the only friendly of his career in which he did not play.

Ronaldo is Portugal’s record appearance maker and leading scorer, with 234 caps and 146 goals for the national team.

Source: L'Équipe

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