With two more fixtures to come within a week, Jorge Jesus clearly saw sense in keeping his 41-year-old talisman in reserve, even if Ronaldo himself looked perplexed at having to be a substitute.
Portugal had the edge from previous encounters
He was joined on the bench by Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha and Ruben Neves, suggesting that Portugal felt this could be a game that they would win relatively easily.
Stole Solbakken had made only one change in response, with Andreas Schjelderup replacing Oscar Bobb.
The two countries had never previously met in the UEFA Nations League, but had played each other 11 times previously, in friendlies and European qualifiers.
Prior to Sunday's encounter, Norway had one victory, two matches had been drawn, whilst the other eight had been won by Portugal.
Joao Felix on target again
Both sides traded blows in the opening quarter hour, having three attempts each but only one on target from Haaland.
Joao Felix, who'd already scored the winner against Wales in Portugal's previous fixture, then opened the scoring with a daisy cutter from inside the D, which silenced the majority of the crowd at the Ullevaal Stadion.
A second goal in two Nations League games was also his third in three appearances, the longest streak of his international career.
By half-time, Norway had engineered another 12 attempts at goal, had a collective 82% possession, and it appeared to be just a matter of time before the hosts bagged an equaliser.
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Haaland draws Norway level
Haaland's five first-half attempts gave him 10 in total for this edition of the Nations League, more than any other player from any country, but the Norwegian powerhouse attempted just four passes in the opening 45.
Though Martin Odegaard had the most touches in the game (113), his 89% pass completion was lower than Sander Berge, whose 93.5% came from 110 touches and 87 accurate passes from 93 attempted.
Portugal's Ruben Dias had a better return (94.6%), but the defender only had 51 total touches, which included just 35 accurate passes from 37 attempted.
Within five minutes of the second-half starting, Haaland tapped home with one of seven touches he had in the Portugal box, more than double any of his opponents managed.
Terrible error from Nyland
Unfortunately for him and his teammates, Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland soon made a disastrous error, clearing the ball straight to the feet of Goncalo Ramos, who simply chipped the ball back over him and into an empty net.
Still, the hosts took the initiative.
Antonio Nusa's seven completed dribbles from 10 attempted were a best-in-class showing, whilst Kristoffer Ajer's five aerial duels won from six, and six ground duels won from eight deserved plaudits.
It was thanks to Ajer and Patrick Berg (100% of tackles won and three interceptions made) that Portugal were largely kept at bay.
Costa forced into action time and time again
Andreas Schjelderup tried his hardest to assist, attempting to make eight tackles; however, the winning of only one of them isn't something the Norwegian would want to dwell on.
A raft of substitutions from either side didn't alter the ebb and flow of the game, though three yellow cards in quick succession from the visitors, including one for time-wasting, spoke of a team using every trick in the book to eke out an advantage.
When Schjelderup got his 77th-minute shot on target, it forced Diogo Costa into his fifth save of the match, the first time since facing Denmark on March 20th, 2025, that he had made so many in one game.
In the latter stages, Berg continued to impress, winning possession back on 10 separate occasions, more than anyone else on the pitch.
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Odegaard's fury
Odegaard also weighed in with his fair share, winning possession a further six times; however, the Arsenal man would end the game nursing a nasty-looking injury after late Portuguese sub Bernardo Silva raked his studs down the back of Odegaard's Achilles, leading to extensive complaints from Silva's former Man City teammate, Haaland.
Though Portugal emerged victorious, Norway could've done little more on the night.
Their 572 attempted passes were one of their highest outputs in recent games, and their 22 attempts at goal were 10 more than the Selecao das Quinas managed.
Given that the two countries face each other again in just under a week's time, Norway might well fancy their chances of turning the tables next time.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high-profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
