Ronaldo’s farewell night ends in 4-1 home defeat as Denmark hand Portugal worst competitive home loss
Cristiano Ronaldo’s farewell for Portugal ended in a 4-1 defeat by Denmark in the UEFA Nations League at the Estadio Municipal de Braga on Saturday, the hosts’ first match since the 41-year-old announced his international retirement. The scoreline, which came despite a pre-match tribute to Ronaldo, represented Portugal’s heaviest-ever competitive home defeat.
Portugal opened the evening with formal acknowledgements of Ronaldo’s career: players wore shirts bearing his name and No. 7, supporters displayed a banner reading 'Obrigado, capi7o', and the federation unveiled a redesigned No. 7 with a permanent mark intended to preserve his version of the number. Ronaldo announced his retirement on November 5, ending a 23-year international career in which he made 234 appearances and scored 146 goals and captained Portugal to Euro 2016 and Nations League titles in 2019 and 2025; the squad had won its first four Nations League matches before Saturday.
Denmark opened the scoring when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg converted a penalty in the 43rd minute. After the interval Rasmus Hojlund scored twice within a seven-minute spell, and Joachim Andersen put Denmark 4-0 up with a goal in the 75th minute. Bernardo Silva added a late consolation for Portugal in stoppage time to make the final score 4-1.
The result was recorded as Portugal’s heaviest defeat on home soil in competitive play, and the hosts had not conceded four goals at home since a 4-4 draw with Cyprus in September 2010. The heavy loss contrasted with the farewell events staged before kick-off and the fan tributes inside the stadium.
Tensions surrounding Ronaldo’s exit resurfaced after the match given his recent public disagreement with manager Jorge Jesus: Ronaldo was left on the bench against Norway, left the national team camp after Jesus indicated he would not start against Denmark, and then announced his retirement despite Jesus saying he had wanted him to continue. After Saturday’s defeat Jesus was asked whether his team had missed Ronaldo and replied, "Missing what? He's no longer on the national team, so what's missing? The only thing missing is his presence here to keep me company." Days earlier Jesus had said he had not expected Ronaldo to retire, that he had wanted him to stay, and that he intended to call the forward up again while respecting the decision to walk away.
Portugal remain top of Nations League Group A4 with 12 points and have already secured a place in the quarter-finals; Denmark moved to nine points, keeping the fight for the group’s top spot alive ahead of the final round.
