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Portugal Begins Nations League Defence with Ronaldo at the Heart
The Nations League has always felt a little different in Portugal. It is their competition, their stage, their silverware in the cabinet twice already. On Thursday night, in Lisbon, the holders start again – and Wales walk straight into the champions’ new era.
A new bench, the same ambition
The summer brought a change of voice on the touchline. Jorge Jesus took charge of the national team on July 10, stepping in after Roberto Martinez’s departure in the wake of the 2026 World Cup.
His inheritance is both enviable and demanding. Portugal had gone unbeaten for more than a year before Spain, on their way to lifting the World Cup, clipped them 1-0 in the last 16. That defeat in 2026 was Portugal’s first since November 2025 – a sharp reminder that tournament football punishes even the smallest lapse.
Yet this is a squad built for nights like this. Portugal were the first to engrave their name on the Nations League trophy, beating Netherlands 1-0 in the 2018-19 final, then edging Spain on penalties in the 2024-25 showpiece. No country has done it more often. No country knows this format better.
Now they line up in League A, Group 4, alongside Wales, Denmark and Norway, home and away, with a quarter-final place the minimum expectation. Norway away closes their September schedule, before tricky October trips and tests against Denmark and Norway again.
The competition suits them. The pressure will, too.
Ronaldo: still here, still starting
The biggest question around Portugal after the World Cup was not about systems or formations. It was about one man.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s international career looked in real jeopardy after that loss to Spain. At 41, many assumed the World Cup had closed his chapter with the national side. Jesus has answered that debate emphatically.
Ronaldo is in the squad. More than that, he is set to start, chasing yet more history on a record already swollen by 146 international goals. For all the talk of transition, Portugal will again walk out with their greatest ever goalscorer leading the line.
Around him, the structure feels settled. Diogo Costa is expected to keep goal. At the back, the experience and authority of Ruben Dias should anchor a defence likely to include Joao Cancelo and Nuno Mendes, with promising centre-back options such as Antonio Silva or Goncalo Inacio and the emerging talents like Veiga in the frame.
In midfield, the blend looks modern and sharp. Vitinha and Joao Neves bring control and legs, while Bruno Fernandes remains the creative fulcrum, threading passes and arriving late into the box. Ahead of them, Pedro Neto and Joao Felix offer movement and invention between the lines, tasked with feeding Ronaldo and stretching a Wales defence that will already be under strain.
On paper, there are no major surprises. On the pitch, Jesus will want a statement.
Wales back at the top table, but stretched
For Wales, the road to Portugal has been bumpier.
Craig Bellamy’s side missed out on the 2026 World Cup, falling to Bosnia-Herzegovina in the semi-finals of the playoffs in March. That disappointment still lingers. Since then, they have tried to reset with mixed results: draws against Northern Ireland and Ghana in friendlies, followed by a 2-1 defeat to Romania.
They do at least return to League A with momentum from the previous Nations League cycle. Promotion from League B in 2024-25 restored some pride, and their overall record in this competition – 10 wins, five draws, seven defeats from 22 matches – shows a team that can be awkward and resilient at this level.
The schedule offers no easing-in period. After Portugal, Wales go to Denmark on September 27, host Norway on October 1 and then welcome Denmark on October 4. Survival in this group will demand points from somewhere. Lisbon is a brutal place to start looking.
The team news has not been kind. Wales arrive with a significant chunk of their attacking threat stripped away. Harry Wilson, Nathan Broadhead and Karl Darlow have all pulled out injured, forcing Bellamy into late changes. David Cornell of Leicester City, Joe Taylor of Huddersfield Town and Charlie Savage of Reading have been drafted in.
They are not the only absentees. Joe Rodon, Dylan Lawlor, Rubin Colwill and Isaak Davies are also missing, leaving Wales lighter in both experience and depth.
That places even more weight on the shoulders of those who are fit. Daniel James, David Brooks and Brennan Johnson are all expected to start in the final third, with James potentially operating through the middle. Their pace and direct running will be crucial if Wales are to counter-punch against a Portugal side likely to dominate the ball.
Behind them, Ethan Ampadu and Jordan James will have to cover huge ground in midfield, screening a back line likely to feature Danny Ward in goal, Neco Williams, Ben Cabango, Rhys Norrington-Davies and Jay Dasilva across the defence.
It is a side that can hurt teams on the break. It is also one that looks thin if the game turns into a siege.
History, and the weight of the occasion
These two nations have only crossed paths four times. Wales have just a single win to show for it, a friendly success back in May 1951. The one competitive meeting sits deep in Portuguese folklore: the Euro 2016 semi-final in Lyon, where Ronaldo and Nani struck to send Portugal to the final and, ultimately, to their first major trophy.
That night felt like a turning point for Portuguese football. This one does not carry the same historical weight, but it does mark the start of something new under Jesus and the continuation of something remarkable with Ronaldo.
Form points firmly towards the hosts. Portugal’s recent run – WDWDWL – includes that solitary defeat to Spain on the biggest stage. Wales’ sequence – WWLDDL – tells the story of a team searching for rhythm, now shorn of several key players.
The likely lineups underline the contrast.
Portugal may go with:
- Costa; Cancelo, Dias, Veiga, Mendes; Vitinha, J Neves; Neto, Fernandes, Felix; Ronaldo.
Wales are expected to respond with:
- Ward; N Williams, Cabango, Norrington-Davies, Dasilva; Ampadu, J James; Brooks, Thomas, Johnson; D James.
Quality runs through the Portuguese XI. Wales rely on organisation, spirit and the hope that their front players can conjure something in transition.
The pressure, inevitably, sits with the champions. The prediction is clear enough: Portugal 3-1 Wales.
If that proves accurate, the question will not be whether Portugal can still dominate the Nations League. It will be how long this golden generation, with Ronaldo still at its head, can keep rewriting the script.
