Portugal made it nine points from three games in the Uefa Nations League as they secured a 4-2 win in Denmark despite the absence of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
Portugal went ahead twice in the first half through Joao Cancelo and Goncalo Ramos, but the Danes fought back as Mikkel Damsgaard and Rasmus Hojlund netted for the hosts.
However the Portuguese pushed on as Vitinha grabbed a 67th-minute goal and Joao Felix secured a late fourth to give Jorge Jesus’s side a six-point lead in the table after a difficult few days.
The match was overshadowed by Ronaldo's dramatic departure from the team. Ronaldo’s international future was plunged into doubt on Wednesday when he left Portugal’s training camp in Copenhagen shortly after coach Jesus acknowledged tensions between the pair.
The 41-year-old later posted on Instagram that he made the decision after Jesus’s press conference and a conversation with Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) president Pedro Proenca, adding that he would reveal the reasons “in due course”.
“Following the national team manager's press conference, and after a conversation with the President of the Portuguese Football Federation, I have decided to leave the national team's training camp,” Ronaldo posted.
“In due course, I will tell all Portuguese people the truth about the reasons behind my departure from the national team, to which I have always been fully committed.
“Now is the time to wish Portugal and all my teammates, without exception, the best of luck.”
Meanwhile, Germany registered a first win under new coach Jurgen Klopp with a 2-0 Nations League victory over Serbia.
Klopp selected a completely new starting XI from the side that lost to Greece last time out, handing debuts to goalkeeper Jonas Urbig and winger Derry Scherhant.
Germany took the lead in the 39th minute as Florian Wirtz picked out Tom Bischof to score his first senior national team goal in his second cap.
After Nick Woltemade missed a sitter at the back post, Wirtz scored the second just past the hour-mark with a neat finish from the edge of the box.
Ireland tense
The clash between Ireland and Austria in Dublin was stopped briefly when tennis balls were thrown onto the pitch in protest at the Irish side playing Israel in their previous fixture.
Ireland were 1-0 up in front of a sell-out crowd when the referee suspended the match briefly in the 20th minute as a small number of tennis balls featuring the Palestinian flag were thrown onto the pitch from behind both goals.
The players were sent for a cooling break and play resumed few minutes later. A man draped in a Palestinian flag attempted to enter the pitch later in the first half, before being led away by security.
Play resumed and Ireland were held to a 2-2 draw. Ireland's next game is a 'home' clash against Israel that will be played behind closed doors in Serbia.
