Victory for Portugal without Ronaldo: What happened in Matchday 4 of the Nations League?

5 October 2026, 06:35·40·Sport

Matchday 4 fixtures of the UEFA Nations League have kicked off in Europe. The matches in League A provided fans with fierce encounters, unexpected draws, and brilliant comeback victories.

Among the central events of the round, special mention can be made of Portugal's crucial win without Cristiano Ronaldo, Germany dropping points away against Greece, and the Netherlands' confident performance in Amsterdam.

Portugal vs Norway: Ramos and Cancelo break through the Haaland barrier

Group 4 leader Portugal hosted Norway, led by Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard, on home turf. In a fiercely contested match, the hosts secured a 2-1 comeback victory:

Minute 36 | 0-1: Visiting defender Kristoffer Ajer opened the scoring to put the Norwegians ahead;
Minute 38 | 1-1: Just two minutes later, João Cancelo restored parity with a fine strike;
Minute 79 | 2-1: Gonçalo Ramos once again decided the fate of the match — the forward scored a crucial goal in the dying minutes to seal the victory for his team.

Following this success, Portugal amassed 12 points, strengthening their position at the top of the group with 4 wins out of 4 matches. Norway remains at the bottom with 3 points.

Germany drops points in Athens, Netherlands consolidates leadership

Greece vs Germany 0-0: In the match held in Athens, Julian Nagelsmann's charges failed to break through the Greek defense. The 90 minutes of uncompromising battle ended in a goalless draw. While Germany remains in 3rd place with 5 points, sensational Greece has gathered 8 points to maintain 2nd place.
Netherlands vs Serbia 2-1: The "Oranje" faced stubborn resistance from the Serbs. Teun Koopmeiners' 31st-minute goal was answered by Serbia through Cvetković's precise strike. The fate of the match was decided in the 72nd minute by substitute Joshua Zirkzee. The victory propelled the Netherlands to the top of the group with 8 points (Serbia still has 0 points).
Wales vs Denmark 0-1: The Scandinavians claimed a vital 3 points away from home. The sole goal was scored in the 75th minute by Rasmus Højlund, who coolly converted a penalty kick.

All results and official lineups:

Greece vs Germany 0-0

Greece: Solakis, Saliakas, Mavropanos (Retsos, 78), Koulierakis, Tsimikas, Masouras, Kourbelis (Mouzakitis, 68), Zafeiris, Kiziridis (Androutsos, 46), Pavlidis, Ioannidis (Kostoulas, 88).
Germany: Urbig, Thiaw, Anton, Raum, Karl (El Mala, 64), Pavlovich, Bischof (Conte, 83), Scherhant, Wirtz, Burkardt (Woltemade, 64).

Netherlands vs Serbia 2-1

Goals: Koopmeiners (31), Zirkzee (72) — Cvetković (35).
Netherlands: Verbruggen, Dumfries, van Dijk, Koopmeiners, van de Ven, Gravenberch, Wieffer (Hato, 58), Reijnders (Timber, 82), Summerville, Lang (van Bommel, 58), Meerdink (Zirkzee, 46).
Serbia: Milinković-Savić, Gudelj, Babić, Pavlović, Terzić (Kostić, 74), Nedeljković, Stanković (Maksimović, 66), Lukić, Samardžić (Živković, 73), Cvetković, Tadić.

Portugal vs Norway 2-1

Goals: Cancelo (38), Ramos (79) — Ajer (36).
Portugal: Costa, Cancelo (Dalot, 63), Dias, Veiga, Mendes, Palhinha (Neves, 63), Conceição, Vitinha, Fernandes, Ramos, Félix.
Norway: Selvik, Aursnes, Ajer, Østigård, Wolfe, Berge, Berg, Schjelderup, Ødegaard, Nusa (Bobb, 74), Haaland (Larsen, 67).

Results of other matches: