Portugal record without Ronaldo and debut of legends What the Nations League remembered

In the League of Nations season 2026/27 ended the fourth round. Portugal were the first to secure a quarter-final despite the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo.

This tournament was the debut for three famous coaches. Xavi led the Netherlands, Jurgen Klopp – Germany, and Zinedine Zidane for the first time took the national team of France. After the first four rounds, Xavi’s team looks best, and Klopp’s Germany is still behind the leaders of the group.

How Portugal played without Ronaldo

Portugal was the first member of the 2026/27 Nations League to secure a place in the quarterfinals. Jorge Jesouch's team won all four A4 matches and was the first to secure a place in the quarter-finals.

Portugal started the tournament with a 1-0 win over Wales. Then on the road beat Norway (2: 1). Ronaldo for the first time in 18 years sat the entire match in the national team on the bench. It was from this meeting that the conflict between the player and the coach began.

In the third round, the team of Rzesz defeated Denmark in Copenhagen with a score of 4: 2. The day before the game, Ronaldo, amid a conflict with the coach, left the team with a scandal. In the fourth round, the Portuguese again beat Norway at home - 2: 1. The main goalkeepers at the start of the Nations League from Portugal were João Felix, Gonzalo Ramos (both have 3 goals and 1 assist).

After four rounds, the team has 12 points and a guaranteed place in the first two of the group. At the moment, Portugal is the only national team that has guaranteed advance to the quarterfinals. Despite the success, Jesus had a hard time. At each press conference, the main topic was the conflict with Ronaldo. Journalists, fans demanded from him explanations and apologies to the legend of the country. Soccer took a back seat.

On September 30, Ronaldo left Portugal on the eve of the Nations League match with Denmark after the press conference of Rzesouch. The forward, unhappy that he did not take the field in the game against Norway, called a private plane and flew to Madrid.

Later, journalist Edu Aguirre said that the coach promised the player to publicly apologize for the decision not to release him on the field in the match against Norway, but did not do so, which “infuriated Ronaldo”. As O Jogo wrote, the footballer decided to finish his career in the national team.

After the conflict, Jesos said he was ready to return Ronaldo to the national team if he wanted to.

How football legends debuted as coaches

Xavi began work in the Netherlands with a match against Germany Jurgen Klopp, who also made his debut at the coaching post of the national team. The meeting in Amsterdam ended 1-1: the Germans opened the scoring in the first half, but Cody Gakpo equalized it in compensated time. At the same time, Virgil van Dijk's goal at the beginning of the match was canceled after VAR intervention.

After Xavi's debut, the Netherlands beat Serbia twice (2:1, 2:2) and played 2-2 with Greece, although two goals were lost in the second half. In the last meeting, the double was issued by Mex Meerdinck. After four rounds, Xavi’s team has eight points, the same as Greece. The Netherlands leads Group A2 in terms of additional indicators.

For Xavi, this is his first experience as the head coach of the national team. He became the first foreign specialist to lead the Netherlands since 1978. The contract of the Spaniard is calculated until the World Cup 2030.

Zinedine Zidane led the French national team after the 2026 World Cup, where Didier Deschamps' team finished fourth. For Zidane, the appointment was a return to coaching after a five-year hiatus. The contract runs until 2030. He hasn't coached teams before.

In the Nations League, France started with a 1-0 victory over Turkey, then beat Belgium 1-0. Zidane became the first French coach in 32 years to start with two wins in a row.

The team was close to four consecutive wins. But in the third round did not hold a home victory with Italy with a playing advantage - 1: 1. In the final game they defeated Belgium (4: 1).

After four rounds, France leads in Group A1 and is likely to take first place in the first round. Zidane's wards were left to play away with Italy and at home with Turkey, which lost all four meetings with a total score of 2:11.

Jurgen Klopp has returned to coaching after leaving Liverpool and a two-year break.

In the summer, he headed the German national team. This is his debut experience at the national team level. And until the first pancake came out in a coma. He showed exactly the opposite of Xavi and Zidane results. Just one win in four games and third place.

In the first match, his team missed a victory over the Netherlands (1: 1), then lost to Greece 0: 1, defeated Serbia 2-0 and played 0-0 with Greece.

The Netherlands and Greece are separated by three points. At the same time, Klopp is actively updating the squad: he called 44 players for four Nations League matches, dividing them into two groups of 22 people. Of this number, 16 players are newcomers who have not yet played for the German national team.

Who marked the start of the League of Nations

Sweden forward Victor Diokeres scored in all four matches. Given the past draw, he scored in seven consecutive games, which has not been possible before in the Nations League.

Five more players scored four goals each. But Michael Olise (France), Harry Kane (England), Lamine Yamal (Spain), unlike the Swedish striker, play in the elite division of the League of Nations.

At the same time, Yamal scored three goals in the intervals from the 2nd to the 6th minute of matches. And his Spain brought a winless series (taking into account only the main time) to a record number of matches - 41.