Portugal 1-4 Denmark: Hosts thrashed in first game since Ronaldo retirement

Portugal suffered a humbling defeat in their first match since Cristiano Ronaldo's international retirement, as they were thrashed 4-1 by Denmark in the Nations League.

Rasmus Højlund scored a brace in the second half after Pierre-Emile Højbjerg opened the scoring from the penalty spot, and Joachim Andersen wrapped up the victory with a brilliant header at the Estádio Municipal de Braga.

After a strong start from Denmark, which saw Højlund, Højbjerg and Mohamed Daramy all squander opportunities, the visitors broke the deadlock two minutes before the break after Rúben Dias handled a header from Højlund, allowing Højbjerg to fire in from 12 yards out.

Højlund then doubled Denmark's lead early in the second half, volleying past a helpless Diogo Costa after a scooped pass from Mikkel Damsgaard, before showing brilliant skill to dribble past Renato Veiga and pick out the bottom-right corner before the hour.

Portugal would fall further behind in the 75th minute, with Andersen sending a bullet header into the top corner after a pinpoint cross from substitute Mathias Jensen.

Jorge Jesus' side tried to at least score a consolation, and they got one in the third minute of stoppage time as substitute Bernardo Silva scored on the rebound from close range after João Neves' initial effort was kept out by Mads Hermansen.

Nightmare start to Portugal's post-Ronaldo era

Jesus would have hoped for a win to settle any doubts surrounding the national team following Ronaldo's retirement from international football, but instead Portugal, who had won their first four group matches, saw their attack stutter in a heavy defeat.

Portugal accumulated just 1.26 expected goals (xG) from their 15 shots, with 0.39 of their total coming from Silva's goal, while Gonçalo Ramos did not record a single shot.

João Félix, Pedro Neto and Bruno Fernandes all recorded just one shot each, with substitutes João Palhinha (two) and Trincão (three) the only Portugal players to record multiple attempts in this contest.

Højlund, meanwhile, impressed at the other end. He led Denmark with five shots, accounting for 0.64 of their 2.33 xG, completed all seven of his passes and won three of his seven aerial duels.

Damsgaard and Gustav Isaksen created three chances each, while Daramy won 11 of his 13 duels in a stellar team performance from Denmark, who took a huge step towards reaching the quarter-finals.

Denmark will need just a draw at home against Norway in their final group match on Tuesday to reach the last eight of the Nations League. Portugal, already assured of a quarter-final place, remain top of Group A4 on 12 points, three ahead of Denmark.