Portugal vs Norway: Ramos keeps Portugal moving without Ronaldo

Gonçalo Ramos decided it for Portugal again. His 79th-minute winner sealed a 2-1 victory over Norway and put Portugal into the Nations League quarter-finals, with João Cancelo having already levelled the game earlier in the night.

Ramos keeps producing

Ramos ends this gathering with three goals and one assist, and that is the bit Portugal will keep trusting. He has three goals in four Nations League appearances this season, and he scored in three straight Portugal matches before and including this one. That is a real return for a forward who has been asked to carry decisive moments while Cristiano Ronaldo remains out of the picture.

His finish against Norway fitted the pattern. Portugal have not needed to reinvent the attack around one absent name, they have needed the players on the pitch to keep making the big moments count, and Ramos has done that.

Portugal's response around him

Norway led through Kristoffer Ajer, but Portugal answered through Cancelo in the 38th minute. Nuno Mendes sent in a very long throw that reached the edge of the box, and Cancelo finished the move off. Portugal then lost Francisco Conceição to a quick double yellow and red in the 86th minute, which made the close of the game less comfortable than it needed to be.

The Ronaldo story is still unresolved in the background, with no official retirement announcement in the material here, only the sense that a reconciliation remains in play. Portugal do not need that question settled to keep winning right now, and the next public checkpoint is Portugal vs Norway on 4 October.