João Félix gives Portugal the win over Wales in the Nations League

A crisp finish from João Félix, struck from outside the box after Nuno Mendes set him up on a counterattack, was enough for Portugal to take all three points against Wales at Estádio José Alvalade. 1-0 was the final score, a tight margin given how much Portugal created, though Wales gave the home side a real scare late on before leaving the Group A4 clash of the UEFA Nations League empty handed.

The match opened up quickly. Portugal took hold of possession from the start and gave an early warning sign: in the 9th minute Cristiano Ronaldo tried his luck from inside the box off a João Félix pass, and two minutes later Vitinha's shot skimmed the right post. Wales, disciplined and patient, barely threatened, with Ben Cabango's header sailing over the bar their only real look. Portugal's persistence paid off in the 21st minute: a quick counter, a cross from Nuno Mendes, and a finish from João Félix by the left post made it 1-0.

With the lead in hand, Portugal kept pushing forward. Cristiano Ronaldo had several more chances before halftime, including a header that also saw Rúben Dias and Renato Veiga get involved from corner kicks, but the score stayed 1-0 through the break.

VAR wipes out Ronaldo's second

The second half followed the same script: Portugal in control, probing down the flanks, with the odd Welsh warning sign in between. The most contentious moment came in the 58th minute, when Cristiano Ronaldo put the ball in the net, only for a VAR review to disallow it and keep the score at 1-0. Wales, who had barely troubled the Portuguese defense up to that point, then had their best spell of the match: in the 73rd minute, Brennan Johnson rattled the crossbar from close range, and on the same play Lewis Koumas and Daniel James both had shots that failed to find the target. It was the moment the result could have swung the other way, but Portugal held firm, and the Welsh goalkeeper was not even called into action during that sequence.

Portugal answered with fresh legs off the bench: João Palhinha and Gonçalo Ramos came on for Rúben Neves and Cristiano Ronaldo, and later Nuno Tavares, Diogo Dalot and João Neves entered to help see out the lead. Gonçalo Ramos forced a good save in the 82nd minute, and in stoppage time, with five minutes added on, João Félix and João Palhinha both tried their luck without success. The 1-0 scoreline held to the final whistle.

The numbers behind the dominance

The stats back up what was seen on the field: a match with far greater volume of play from Portugal, though the balance of clear chances was closer than the scoreline suggests.

The shot count, 23 to 5, makes clear who carried the weight of the match, though the post match expected goals figures narrow that gap considerably: 1.859 for Portugal against 1.726 for Wales, a sign that Johnson's crossbar strike and a few of Wales's forays forward carried real danger, even with far less overall attacking volume.

What the result means

With this win, Portugal moves to 3 points in Group A4, level on points with Norway but sitting in second place, while Wales are left without points after this opening matchday, the same as Denmark. The gap between the two sides from this match in the standings is 3 points. For Wales, Johnson's crossbar strike stands as the lasting image of what might have been a different afternoon. For Portugal, João Félix's goal and the team's collective effort were enough to secure all three points despite the scare in the second half.