Portugal overcome Norway and late red card to seal quarter-final place

Joao Cancelo cancelled out Kristoffer Ajer’s spectacular opener before Goncalo Ramos struck the winner in the 79th minute. The hosts then survived Francisco Conceicao’s late dismissal to extend their unbeaten home run to 12 matches.

Match highlight

Portugal began brightly despite an early collision with Andreas Schjelderup that left Nuno Mendes with a split lip.

Fredrik Aursnes blocked Conceicao’s attempt, while Leo Ostigard produced an excellent tackle to halt Joao Felix before intervening again to deny the same player.

Vitinha fired over from distance, and Egil Selvik tipped a dangerous Cancelo effort over the crossbar as Portugal continued to press.

Norway offered little in attack initially, although Antonio Nusa demonstrated their threat with a fine curling shot that required a save from Diogo Costa.

The visitors then took the lead through an unexpected source in the 36th minute. Ajer controlled Martin Odegaard’s pass and unleashed a superb strike into the top corner.

Portugal’s response was equally spectacular and arrived just two minutes later. Cancelo waited for Mendes’ long throw to reach him near the edge of the penalty area before driving an outstanding effort past Selvik.

Bruno Fernandes attempted another ambitious strike after the interval but missed the target, while Selvik made a diving save to prevent Cancelo from adding a second.

Erling Haaland finally received his first clear shooting opportunity around the hour mark, only to fire wide from a narrow angle.

Portugal remained the more persistent attacking force. Patrick Berg blocked Vitinha’s effort, Renato Veiga headed over from the resulting corner, and Ruben Neves shot wide after Ajer’s header redirected another Fernandes delivery towards him.

The breakthrough eventually came with 11 minutes remaining. Felix controlled the ball and directed it across goal for Ramos to finish from close range, completing the turnaround.

Conceicao subsequently received two bookings in quick succession, leaving Portugal to defend their advantage with 10 men.

They negotiated the closing stages successfully, preserving their position at the top of Group A4 and confirming qualification for the knockout phase.

The result also left Portugal with just one defeat in their past 13 meetings with Norway. For the visitors, a third consecutive loss left them bottom of the group and facing an increasingly difficult battle to recover their campaign.