Denmark – Portugal: The King is Dead, Long Live the Kings (2-4)

The build-up to this game would be dominated by one individual, while the result would be an ode to teamwork. The future looks bright for Portugal if only they have the guts to grab it, as they demonstrated by claiming victory against a Denmark side, who were determined not to let the result slip away. 

Tactical analysis and match report by Nick Hartland.

“But the idol is an idol for only a moment, a human eternity, all of nothing… and sometimes when he breaks, people devour the pieces.” What to do with Cristiano Ronaldo? That was the conundrum facing Jorge Jesus when he took over the Portugal job – as it was for at least his two predecessors. Like the emperor without clothes, it’s been obvious for a long while to anyone without a vested interest that the 41-year-old striker does not fit neatly into the modern game. 

He was left on the bench in the win over Norway on Sunday. A snub that appeared to have been taken badly. Shortly after Jesus’s press conference on Wednesday, where he confirmed that Gonçalo Ramos would likely be his starter, Ronaldo abandoned the training camp in Denmark. Politically, it was a mess for Jesus; sportingly, it was a neat solution to the millstone that has been carried around the team’s neck.

Denmark’s head coach Brian Riemer would disagree: “I believe that many people underestimate the importance he has in the Portuguese team. I even think that, the day he retires, Portugal will have a problem.” Perhaps some mind games for a manager who remains under a bit of pressure from supporters after the nation missed out . . .