LISBON, Portugal (AP) — There was doubt about Cristiano Ronaldo playing for Portugal on Thursday after he missed team training and local media talked about the superstar being unhappy with coach Jorge Jesus.
Ronaldo, the all-time leading scorer in men's international soccer and pursuing the milestone of 1,000 career goals, was left on the bench
on Sunday in Portugal's 2-1 win at Norway in the Nations League.He has not practiced with the team since
then, doing only gym work, the Portuguese Football Federation said.
Portuguese media said federation president Pedro Proença had to travel to meet with Ronaldo and Jesus after reports the froward was unhappy about being left out of the match against Norway. The federation confirmed only that Proença was with the squad in Sweden, where it was preparing for Thursday's Nations League game against Denmark.
Ronaldo, who has 146 international goals for Portugal, on Tuesday posted on Instagram a photo of him wearing the Portugal uniform accompanied with the Portuguese flag and a heart emoji.
Jesus, who took over the squad from Roberto Martínez after the World Cup, said ahead of the Norway game that he didn't want to overuse Ronaldo during the unusually long international break in which Portugal plays four games in 11 days.
He said he planned to give Ronaldo some minutes against Norway but the circumstances of the match kept him from being used. Jesus said right after the game that he would “talk to him,” while responding to reports that Ronaldo was upset.
Ronaldo started in Portugal's 1-0 win over Wales last Thursday and was substituted in the 67th minute.
Portugal leads Group A4 of the Nations League with six points from two matches, three points more than Denmark and Norway. Wales is last with no points.
Portugal will host Norway on Sunday.
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