Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal kicked off their UEFA Nations League title defense on the right foot, beating Wales 1-0 at the Estádio José Alvalade in the first match of the 2026-27 campaign under new coach Jorge Jesus.
Ronaldo started up front but was unable to add to his historic tally in the match, leaving him stuck on 979 career goals, still 21 shy of the 1,000-goal milestone. His total is split between 833 goals for his club sides, Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, and Al Nassr, and 146 for the Portuguese national team.
Ronaldo came close early on, forcing a save with a left-footed effort from inside the box in the ninth minute before seeing a follow-up attempt deflected away by the Wales defense minutes later.
João Félix broke the deadlock for Portugal in the 21st minute, and Ronaldo appeared to have found the net himself later in the match, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
He was withdrawn before the final whistle with the scoreline still 1-0, closing the book on his chances of adding to his tally on the night. Portugal controlled the game throughout against a Wales side missing several regulars, opening their title defense with a win as they look to build toward another deep run in the competition they’ve won twice since 2019.
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Portugal’s next chances to inch closer to 1,000 goals
Ronaldo will get another shot at the milestone soon, with Portugal’s Nations League campaign continuing on September 27 away to Norway at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo.
The match comes just three days after this Wales clash, giving Ronaldo a quick turnaround to add to his tally against a Norway side that also opened its own group stage on Thursday.
From there, Portugal travel to Copenhagen to face Denmark at Parken Stadium on October 1, before closing out the window back on home soil against Norway once again on October 4, this time at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto. Between the three remaining fixtures, Ronaldo will have multiple opportunities to close the gap on 1,000 goals before Portugal’s Nations League group stage wraps up.
