Portugal edged Wales 1-0 in the Nations League at the José Alvalade Stadium, with João Félix’s first-half strike settling a night dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Lisbon. The Al-Nassr forward found the net from the edge of the box, roughly 20 yards from goal, after Nuno Mendes moved infield and picked him out, his shot beating Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward via a nick off Wales captain Ben Davies.
Ronaldo’s own evening was far less rewarding. The 41-year-old started, as Jorge Jesus had promised he would, and passed up four decent chances in the first half alone, the best of them from about 12 yards out and leaving him scuffing his boots in frustration. He sent a free-kick into the Wales wall, was presented a first sight of goal by Bruno Fernandes but produced a rusty touch that let the ball bobble off his left foot, and later volleyed wide from an awkward angle at the back post. Four minutes into the second half, unmarked in the six-yard box, he shanked Rúben Neves’s cross from the right over off his left shin. Approaching the hour he had the ball in the net, but a VAR review showed he was offside when accelerating beyond Ben Cabango to meet another Fernandes pass. In the 67th minute his number went up on the fourth official’s board, prompting him to remove the captain’s armband from his left bicep before leaving to a universal ovation, bar a pocket of Wales supporters, with the referee Donatas Rumsas hurrying him off the pitch. His trademark “Siu” celebration went to waste.
It was Ronaldo’s first game back in Lisbon since last October, at the ground where he made his name as a teenager. He had spoken of a new era, different tactics and even a different language, alluding to Jesus’s predecessor Roberto Martínez, but the occasion felt rather run of the mill. Rúben Neves, another player stationed in Saudi Arabia, replaced João Neves in Portugal’s three-man midfield and was the only change from their World Cup last-16 exit to Spain in Dallas. Jesus, who twice managed Benfica and spent three years in charge of Sporting, coached Ronaldo at Al-Nassr last season and passionately defended him on the eve of the game, describing him as a symbol of Portugal. Ronaldo-mania is omnipresent in the city, chiefly inside the official Portugal stores in downtown Praça da Figueira, where the merchandise ranges from CR7-branded briefs, face masks, action figures and lanyards to Lego, replica Ballon d’Ors and a box set celebrating his time at Sporting.
Craig Bellamy acknowledged Wales would have to suffer against a side boasting five Champions League winners, but his team began confidently. Bellamy does not have the same quality at his disposal, with Harry Wilson, Wales’s best performer in recent years, and Karl Darlow, these days the undisputed No 1, among those absent through injury. A harmless Ben Cabango header was Wales’s sole effort at goal in the first half and they did not trouble goalkeeper Diogo Costa, but Bellamy stressed that retaining possession was the best way to flummox the hosts.
Wales were valiant and could have snatched an equaliser when Brennan Johnson hit the crossbar and Rúben Dias desperately denied Lewis Koumas. Substitute Kieffer Moore sliced wide a rare opening late on, while Jay Dasilva was excellent at left-back. Davies, a Wales centurion, marshalled the defence on his second appearance of the season, his only minutes having come for Tottenham against a Charlton B team in the Carabao Cup, and Ward’s sole outing was in the same competition for Wrexham six weeks ago. Portugal should have extended their lead, but Wales will take plenty of confidence from this slender defeat.