Cristiano Ronaldo experienced a rare moment in his Portugal career on Sunday as he watched the entire 90 minutes from the substitutes’ bench during Portugal’s 2–1 UEFA Nations League victory over Norway.
The occasion marked the first time since 15 June 2008 that Ronaldo had remained an unused substitute in an official competitive match for Portugal.
That is a remarkable 6,678 days between the two occasions. Ronaldo had started Portugal’s previous Nations League match against Wales just three days earlier, playing around 67 minutes.
With Portugal facing a demanding schedule, new head coach Jorge Jesus initially explained that he wanted to manage Ronaldo’s minutes across the four matches.
However, Jesus later clarified that Ronaldo was physically capable of playing and that his decision not to introduce the captain was tactical.
The coach had considered bringing him on for the final 30 minutes but ultimately felt the match required different characteristics as Portugal protected their lead.
Portugal secured the victory through goals from João Félix and Gonçalo Ramos, despite Erling Haaland scoring for Norway.
For Ronaldo, it was an unusual sight after nearly two decades of regular involvement with Portugal.6,678 days later, history repeated itself.
