Wales fell to an opening 1-0 Nations League defeat to Portugal as Cristiano Ronaldo drew a blank in Lisbon. On an evening when Ronaldo missed a slew of chances and had a second-half effort ruled out by a VAR intervention, it was his Al Nassr team-mate Joao Felix who settled the contest. Ronaldo was winning cap number 234 after deciding to prolong his international career following a disappointing World Cup, but his contribution ended when substituted after 67 minutes.

The manner of Felix's 22nd-minute goal was cruel on Wales, deflecting off Ben Davies, but it could not be denied that Portugal deserved their victory by having 22 shots to five. Being pitched into a tough Nations League A group with Portugal, Norway and Denmark was Wales' reward for promotion two years ago. Boss Craig Bellamy had welcomed the challenge as an opportunity to improve their seeding for the 2028 European Championship.

Wales' stand-in captain Ben Davies told BBC Sport: "On another day it could have gone another way. It's disappointing but we played good football. We could have done better, but it's not an easy place to come." Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes added: "I think it was a very good game. We controlled it and had a lot of chances but were not capable of scoring more."