Portugal suffered a humbling defeat in their first match since Cristiano Ronaldo's retirement, as they were thrashed 4-1 by Denmark in the Nations League.

Rasmus Hojlund scored a brace in the second half after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg opened the scoring from the penalty spot, and Joachim Andersen wrapped up the victory with a brilliant header at Estadio Municipal de Braga.

After a strong start from Denmark, which saw Hojlund, Hojbjerg and Mohamed Daramy all squander opportunities, the visitors broke the deadlock two minutes before the break after Ruben Dias blocked a header from Hojlund with his hands, allowing Hojbjerg to fire in from 12 yards out.

Hojlund then doubled Denmark's lead four minutes after the restart, volleying past a helpless Diogo Costa after a scooped pass from Mikkel Damsgaard, before showing brilliant skill to dribble past Renato Veiga and pick out the bottom-right corner before the hour.

Portugal would fall further behind in the 75th minute, with Andersen sending a bullet header into the top corner after a pinpoint cross from substitute Mathias Jensen.

Jorge Jesus' side tried to at least score a consolation, and they got one in the 93rd minute as Bernardo Silva scored on the rebound from close range after Joao Neves' initial effort was kept out by Mads Hermansen.

Eternamente gratos por tudo.  @Cristiano https://t.co/5g8LGQYSEz

— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) November 14, 2026

Nightmare start for Jesus' new era

Jesus would have hoped for a win to settle any doubts surrounding the national team following Ronaldo's retirement from international football, but instead his worst fears came true, with Portugal's attack stuttering in a big defeat.

Portugal accumulated just 1.26 expected goals (xG) from their 15 shots, with 0.39 of their total coming from Silva's goal, which was the last kick of the game, while Goncalo Ramos did not record a single shot.

Joao Felix, Pedro Neto and Bruno Fernandes all recorded just one shot each, with substitutes Joao Palhinha (two) and Trincao (three) the only Portugal players to record multiple attempts in this contest.

Hojlund, meanwhile, impressed at the other end. He led Denmark in shots (five), recording 0.64 of their 2.33 xG, completed 100% of his passes (7/7) and won the most aerial duels (3/7).

Damsgaard and Gustav Isaksen created three chances each, while Daramy won 11 of his 13 duels in a stellar team performance from Denmark, who took a huge step towards reaching the quarter-finals.

Denmark will need just a draw against Norway in their final group match on Tuesday to reach the last eight of the Nations League.