Haaland Scores but Nyland Error Proves Costly as Portugal Halt Norway’s Home Streak

Key Takeaways:

• Portugal claimed a 2-1 victory in Oslo, snapping Norway’s 14-match unbeaten home record
• Erling Haaland scored his 65th goal for Norway, finding the net for the 16th time in his last 17 competitive international games
• Goncalo Ramos capitalised on a goalkeeping error from Orjan Nyland to score Portugal’s winner

Match Analysis

Portugal overcame a determined Norway side 2-1 in Oslo to open their UEFA Nations League Group A4 campaign with consecutive victories, while simultaneously ending the hosts’ impressive 14-match unbeaten run on home soil. Despite speculation around the star pairing of Erling Haaland and Cristiano Ronaldo, the latter began the match on the bench. The game, however, was played at a relentless tempo throughout, with both sides looking to assert themselves early on.

Segunda vitória na Liga das Nações? 𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗞! ✅🫡#NationsLeague | #NORPOR pic.twitter.com/5Zy4vysIWR

— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) September 27, 2026

First-Half Dynamics

Joao Neves sought to make an impact on his 22nd birthday by heading over the bar in the 13th minute. Erling Haaland was denied by Portugal’s Diogo Costa shortly thereafter. Portugal went in front in the 17th minute, as Joao Felix calmly finished from the edge of the box to notch his ninth consecutive international goal featuring as either the first or last goal of the respective matches. Felix’s opener followed his winner against Wales last Thursday, highlighting his clinical form at international level.

Haaland came close to levelling twice, first meeting the rebound after Costa parried, only to see Ruben Dias pull off a remarkable diving block. Norway continued their offensive push as Costa produced two saves from Haaland headers, and Sander Berge also sent a header wide. Portugal managed to preserve their first-half clean sheet for a sixth successive match.

Second-Half Action and Decisive Moments

Determined not to leave empty-handed, Haaland restored parity six minutes after the restart. The prolific striker converted from close range to bring his international tally to 65 goals in 57 appearances, having now scored in 16 of his last 17 competitive fixtures for Norway.

Norway’s hopes of maintaining their home run were quickly dashed. Orjan Nyland committed a significant error in the 54th minute, gifting possession to Goncalo Ramos, who calmly lobbed his 12th international goal into an unguarded net. Nyland’s woes nearly continued moments later when Ramos beat him to a through ball and finished, but the strike was disallowed for offside.

With the contest growing increasingly frenetic in the closing stages, Portugal saw out the result to surge to the top of Group A4, marking their fourth Nations League campaign out of five with consecutive opening wins.

Statistical Overview

The result means Portugal have now triumphed in seven of their last ten fixtures (D2, L1), including the opening two matches under new manager Jorge Jesus. Norway remain on three points after two games, suffering their ninth defeat in 12 head-to-head meetings (W1, D2) against the Selecao das Quinas.