Portugal suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Denmark in the UEFA Nations League on Sunday in their first match since Cristiano Ronaldo retired from international football.
Rasmus Hojlund scored twice as Denmark stunned the hosts in Braga. The win moved Denmark to second place in Group A4 with nine points from five matches.
Portugal had already secured a place in the quarter-finals after winning their first four matches. They remain top of the group with 12 points.
Before the match, Portugal paid tribute to Ronaldo, who retired last week at the age of 41. Players and mascots wore shirts with his name and number seven. Fans also displayed a large banner reading “Thank you captain”.
The crowd applauded in the seventh minute to honour the former captain, who scored 146 goals in 234 international matches.
Denmark dominated the match from the start. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 43rd minute.
Hojlund doubled the lead four minutes into the second half with a fine volley. He struck again seven minutes later after beating Ruben Dias and firing a powerful shot from outside the box.
Joachim Andersen added Denmark’s fourth with a header before Bernardo Silva scored a late consolation goal for Portugal. Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes admitted his side had struggled throughout the match.
“There are no nights to forget. It was a night of learning and seeing the mistakes we made,” Fernandes said.
“Denmark were also very clinical. They scored from the chances they had.”
Denmark now need just a draw against Norway on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Norway beat Wales 3-1 to keep their hopes alive. Antonio Nusa, Andreas Schjelderup and Erling Haaland scored for Norway, while David Brooks netted Wales’ only goal.
Northern Ireland also claimed a 1-0 win over Ukraine. Terry Devlin scored the winner to put his side within one point of promotion to League A.
