Portugal Beats Wales in Nations League Opener as Ronaldo Struggles

Portugal's forward Joao Felix celebrated with defender Nuno Mendes after scoring his team's first goal in the UEFA Nations League match against Wales. This match took place at Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon on September 24, 2026.

Felix scored the only goal with a long-range shot, helping Portugal to a 1-0 win over Wales in their opening match of the tournament.

“We scored one, and we didn’t concede,” said Portugal’s Bruno Fernandes in a statement to the BBC. “That’s the big thing.”

Portugal has won two out of the four finals held since the competition started in 2018. However, they lost in the round of 16 to Spain during the World Cup in July.

In the first match under coach Jorge Jesus, Portugal controlled the game, having 19 shots compared to Wales' 4. They missed several good chances to score.

“We had 13 shots in the first half, that’s a lot,” Felix said. “I can’t recall them having a single clear-cut chance; we had several. You can expect this from us. We only scored one today but, if we carry on like this, we’ll score more.”

The only goal came in the 22nd minute. Felix took a low shot from the edge of the box that deflected off Wales captain Ben Davies and went inside the far post, past goalkeeper Danny Ward.

“I think it was a very good game,” said Fernandes. “We controlled it and had a lot of chances but were not capable of scoring more. We wanted the three points and got that.”

For two decades, Portugal’s attack has focused on Cristiano Ronaldo. Each time the 41-year-old touched the ball near the goal, the crowd's cheers grew louder. Ronaldo made his national debut in 2003 and has scored a record 146 international goals.

Ronaldo hit the side netting once and missed a close-range volley. After an hour, he scored but was ruled offside, leaving him in disbelief. He was substituted seven minutes later.

After Ronaldo left the pitch, the crowd became quieter, and Portugal's performance dropped.

Wales almost equalized twice from their one good chance. First, Brennan Johnson chipped goalkeeper Diogo Costa, hitting the bar. With Costa out of position, Lewis Koumas and Dan James rushed for the rebound. Koumas ended up shooting weakly straight at defender Ruben Dias, who was on the line.

“We are disappointed with the goal,” said Wales midfielder Ethan Ampadu. “It’s tough, and there were a couple of chances at the end where we could’ve got a goal, and that would have made it a better feeling, but it’s never nice to lose.”