Portugal begin life after Ronaldo with Nations League test against Denmark

Portugal will take the field for the first time since the retirement of Cristiano Ronaldo when they host Denmark in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday, with kickoff at Braga Municipal Stadium scheduled for 7:45pm (19:45 GMT).

Ronaldo, 41, announced last week that he was ending his 23-year association with the national team, confirming the decision in a lengthy video posted on social media. The move came weeks after a public rift with Portugal coach Jorge Jesus. The country's record scorer and longstanding captain, who wore the celebrated No 7 shirt, said it was time to "pass it on to the future".

The two-time Nations League winners have already booked their place in the quarterfinals and will be confirmed as Group A4 winners if they avoid defeat against the second-placed Danes. Denmark face a more complicated route to the last eight: they must beat Portugal and hope that neighbours Norway do not defeat third-placed Wales in a meeting of the group's bottom two sides.

In Ronaldo's absence, forwards Goncalo Ramos and Joao Felix have driven Portugal's attacking play, scoring three goals each in the campaign so far. Denmark's push has been led by Rasmus Hojlund, who has netted three of his team's seven goals.

Portugal hold a perfect record in the competition with four wins from four. They opened their title defence with a 1-0 home victory over Wales before beating Norway 2-1, a match in which Ronaldo was an unused substitute. Shortly afterwards, Ronaldo stormed out of the national camp, but the team was untroubled without him, beating Denmark 4-2 away and then defeating Norway 2-1 at home to reach the quarterfinals.

Denmark have won two matches and lost two. Their campaign began with a 3-2 defeat in Norway before they responded with a 2-0 home win over Wales. They then fell 4-2 at home to Portugal before winning 1-0 away against Wales.

When the sides last met on October 1 in Copenhagen, goals from Joao Cancelo, Goncalo Ramos, Vitinha and Felix secured a 4-2 victory for Portugal, while Mikkel Damsgaard and Hojlund scored for the hosts. Opta's supercomputer gives Portugal a 59.4 percent probability of winning the rematch, with a draw at 21.2 percent and a Denmark victory at 19.4 percent. Across 19 previous meetings, Portugal have won 13, Denmark four, with two draws.

Portugal will be without the suspended Cancelo and Francisco Conceicao, while Rafael Leao, Nuno Mendes and Nuno Tavares are sidelined through injury. Denmark are missing Patrick Dorgu and must manage six players who are each one booking away from a suspension.

The match will be shown by Sport TV in Portugal, TV2 PLAY in Denmark, beIN SPORTS in the Middle East and North Africa, Prime Video in the United Kingdom, FOX Sports, FuboTV and ViX in the United States, Sony Sports Network in India and DStv Stream in South Africa.