Portugal begin new era without Ronaldo against Denmark in Nations League

Who: Portugal vs Denmark
What: UEFA Nations League, Group A4
Where: Braga Municipal Stadium, Braga, Portugal
When: Saturday, November 14, at 7:45pm (19:45 GMT).
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up from 16:45 GMT before our live text commentary stream

A new chapter in Portuguese football starts on Saturday, as the national team moves on from the departure of their record scorer and longstanding captain, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo ended his 23-year association with the Selecao last week, announcing his retirement in a lengthy video on social media, weeks after a public rift with Portugal coach Jorge Jesus.

The 41-year-old, a polarising football icon who wore the much-adored No 7 shirt for his country, said it was now time to “pass it on to the future”.

Playing their first game without their biggest star, Portugal face Denmark in Saturday’s home fixture, having already confirmed their spot in the quarterfinals.

With three goals each, forwards Goncalo Ramos and Joao Felix have orchestrated Portugal’s attacking play in Ronaldo’s absence, while Denmark’s charge has been led by Rasmus Hojlund, who has netted three of his team’s seven goals so far.

Two-time holders Portugal will be confirmed as group winners if they avoid defeat against Denmark, who are second in the standings.

The Danes have a bit more complicated path to secure their spot in the last eight on Saturday – they need to win against Portugal and hope that neighbours Norway do not beat third-placed Wales in a clash of the bottom two.

How have Portugal played in the Nations League?

Portugal have a perfect record in the competition, with four wins out of four.

They began their title defence with a 1-0 home win over Wales before beating Norway 2-1, a game in which Ronaldo was an unused substitute.

Shortly afterwards, Ronaldo stormed out of the national camp, but his absence did not trouble the team as they thrashed Denmark 4-2 in another away game before winning 2-1 at home against Norway to reach the quarterfinals.

How have Denmark played in the Nations League?

Denmark have won two games and lost two.

Their campaign started with a 3-2 loss in Norway, but they bounced back with a 2-0 home victory against Wales.

The third match saw them fall 4-2 at home to Portugal before they beat Wales 1-0 away.

What happened when Portugal and Denmark last met?

Goals from Joao Cancelo, Goncalo Ramos, Vitinha and Felix gave Portugal a 4-2 win over Denmark on October 1.

Mikkel Damsgaard and Rasmus Hojlund scored for the hosts in that game at Copenhagen.

Portugal vs Denmark: Predictions

Opta’s supercomputer has given Portugal a 59.4 percent probability of victory, while Denmark’s odds stand at 19.4 percent.

There is a 21.2 percent chance the game ends in a draw.

Head-to-head

• Matches: 18
• Portugal wins: 12
• Denmark wins: 4
• Draws: 2

Form guide

(Last five matches, latest game first)

Portugal: W-W-W-W-L

Denmark: W-L-W-L-D

Team news and predicted lineups

Portugal

Cancelo and Francisco Conceicao are suspended, while Rafael Leao, Nuno Mendes and Nuno Tavares are out with injuries.

Probable Portugal XI: Diogo Costa; Diogo Dalot, Ruben Dias, Renato Veiga, Flavio Nazinho; Ruben Neves, Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes; Joao Felix, Goncalo Ramos

Denmark

Denmark will be without Patrick Dorgu, and they will have to be cautious with six players one booking away from suspension.

Probable Denmark XI: Mads Hermansen; Rasmus Kristensen, Joachim Andersen, Oliver Provstgaard, Joakim Maehle; Morten Hjulmand, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg; Gustav Isaksen, Mikkel Damsgaard, Mohamed Daramy; Rasmus Hojlund

Portugal vs Denmark: TV channel, livestreaming

• Portugal: Sport TV Portugal
• Denmark: TV2 PLAY
• Middle East and North Africa: beIN SPORTS
• United Kingdom: Prime Video UK
• United States: FOX Sports, FuboTV, ViX
• India: Sony Sports Network
• South Africa: DStv Stream

You can find your regional broadcaster on UEFA’s official broadcaster listing.