Portugal secured a 4-2 victory over Denmark without Cristiano Ronaldo on Thursday, while Jürgen Klopp recorded his first win as Germany coach with a 2-0 victory over Serbia.
João Cancelo and Gonçalo Ramos put Portugal two goals ahead before Denmark fought back through Mikkel Damsgaard and Rasmus Højlund. Vitinha restored Portugal’s lead in the 67th minute, and João Félix sealed the win late on.
The result extended Portugal’s perfect start to the Nations League, with Jorge Jesus's side taking nine points from three matches. Ronaldo was absent after leaving the Portugal camp the day before the match.
Klopp, meanwhile, ended his wait for a first win as Germany coach with the 2-0 victory in Munich.
Tom Bischof opened the scoring in the 39th minute after Florian Wirtz’s effort struck the post.
Wirtz doubled the lead shortly after the hour mark to seal the result, in what was Klopp’s third match in charge following a draw with the Netherlands and a defeat to Greece.
Germany will next face Greece, while Portugal host Norway in their next Group A4 fixture.
Ronaldo Departure Triggers Social Media Fallout
Portugal’s national team has lost more than 1.4 million Instagram followers within 24 hours, amid a reported dispute between Ronaldo and head coach Jorge Jesus.
A check on Friday morning showed the team’s official Instagram account had dropped from about 24.9 million followers to 23.5 million.
Ronaldo reportedly left Portugal’s training camp in Denmark on Wednesday after speaking with Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proença.
He confirmed his departure in an Instagram post, saying he would explain his reasons “in due time.”
The dispute reportedly followed Jesus’s decision to leave Ronaldo out of the starting lineup, which escalated after the coach addressed the matter publicly.
Portuguese Media Confirm Sharp Follower Decline
Portuguese media have also reported the sharp drop in the team’s social media following.
Another news media, A Bola, recorded a decline of more than 300,000 followers in under 24 hours.
Portuguese broadcaster Renascença, citing HypeAuditor data, reported a drop of more than 370,000 followers, down to 24,631,902.
Despite the controversy, Ronaldo remains one of the most-followed individuals on Instagram, with about 679 million followers on his personal page as of Friday.
The thing is most people came there for the players and not the game. The game to some, just happens to be an addition of their love, and keeping Ronaldo off like that, maybe they are saving him for an even tougher opponent.