Portugal put on a show without Ronaldo to punish Denmark in Copenhagen

[p]With most of the pre-match talk centred on the omission of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ronaldo-cristiano/WGOY4FSt/"]Cristiano Ronaldo[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/portugal/WvJrjFVN/"]Portugal[/a] allayed any fears of disharmony with a breakthrough inside the opening quarter-hour.[/p][p][b]Having struck the post just moments before, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ramos-goncalo/xfW2M1Tt/"]Goncalo Ramos[/a] combined brilliantly with Joao Cancelo as the full-back broke through the hosts’ defence and finished coolly past [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hermansen-mads/fq8hQjAg/"]Mads Hermansen[/a].[/b][/p][p]Despite that setback, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/denmark/0KUdxQVi/"]Denmark[/a] restored parity in the 23rd minute, as Joakim Maehle’s cut-back in the box was superbly curled into the far corner by Mikel Damsgaard.[/p][p][b]Victorious in five of their last seven away matches (D1, L1), the Selecao regained the lead just three minutes later, with Bruno Fernandes assisting Ramos for a confident low finish beyond Hermansen.[/b][/p][p]That was the Milan striker’s second international goal in the space of four days, repaying the faith shown by new boss Jorge Jesus.[/p][p]Determined to press home their advantage, Portugal went close to a third before half-time, as Nuno Mendes fired wide and Ramos saw a close-range effort repelled by Hermansen.[/p][image alt="Denmark - Portugal - Momentum" id="c1a71aac-1d17-486b-acbb-4c00ca3dcc7b" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="86a31fc2-e313-45f9-bd26-6cc4cc309b4c" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p][b]Denmark started the second period on the front foot, and Brian Riemer’s men were duly rewarded with a second equaliser of the night in the 53rd minute. Damsgaard was the architect as he released [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hojlund-rasmus/0lk9Mt7D/"]Rasmus Hojlund[/a], who held his nerve to lift a sumptuous finish over the onrushing Diogo Costa, before pulling out Ronaldo’s trademark celebration.[/b][/p][p]That sparked the visitors into life at the other end, as the lively Ramos powered a promising chance over, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/neves-ruben/Ea90ReE4/"]Ruben Neves[/a] saw a low strike thwarted by Hermansen.[/p][p][b]Undeterred by those missed opportunities, Portugal were soon celebrating their third goal in the 67th minute, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vitinha/Sz9SH7zj/"]Vitinha[/a] rising highest in the box to convert from a trademark Fernandes delivery.[/b][/p][embed guid="c87f2eaf-b732-49db-bc9d-1fb026fd80c7" url="https://x.com/selecaoportugal/status/2105763258946793624" social-type="twitter" /][p]Having already relinquished the lead twice, the visitors looked to control the closing stages, as Jesus turned to Joao Neves and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/joao-felix/KI3YXMhi/"]Joao Felix[/a] on his bench.[/p][p][b]And it was the latter who put the seal on a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/denmark-0KUdxQVi/portugal-WvJrjFVN/?mid=Y5Bq2moK"]superb victory[/a] for the Selecao, sweeping home a clinical finish from Diogo Dalot’s pass, as Portugal cemented their place at the top of Group A4 with a third win from three matches.[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandes-bruno/GYvAMDm2/"]Flashscore Man of the Match: Bruno Fernandes (Portugal)[/a][/b][/p]