Man City's Ruben Dias hailed for "superb" performance in Portugal win over Norway

By Matt Law | 28 Sep 2026 09:08, Last updated: 28 Sep 2026 09:10

Ruben Dias captained Portugal to a 2-1 victory over Norway in Sunday evening's clash in the UEFA Nations League, and it was an excellent performance from the Manchester City defender.

Erling Haaland, of course, was on the scoresheet for Norway, but efforts from Joao Felix and Goncalo Ramos either side of the Man City striker's goal handed Portugal a 2-1 success.

Cristiano Ronaldo was interestingly an unused substitute for Jorge Jesus' side.

Meanwhile, Portugal were without the services of Bruno Fernandes through injury, but the national side still managed to triumph to move onto six points in Group 4 of League A.

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Dias has received a lot of praise for his performance against a talented Norway outfit.

Radio Renascena said that Dias was at "a superb level" against Norway given the threat of Haaland, who plays alongside the defender at Man City.

A Bola handed Dias an overall rating of 8/10 on the night, noting his crucial intervention to stop Haaland from scoring after a mistake from Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa, while he was described as being at "a very high level" in the Nations League clash.

ZeroZero handed Dias a rating of 7.2/10, noting his leadership skills, calling him a "captain, leader and commander of the defensive line".

Portugal head coach Jesus was complimentary about his defence following the impressive win.

"As far as I'm concerned, this Norway side is one of the top five in Europe," Jesus told Sport TV after the contest.

"They've got a striker who can score at any moment. But our back line, with help from [Joao] Palhinha and [Joao] Neves, were very strong down the central channel. Even so, Haaland had six shots inside the box and scored from one."

Renato Veiga also impressed alongside Dias in the middle of the Portugal defence.

Dias has been a excellent performer for Man City since arriving from Benfica in 2020, representing the Citizens on 262 occasions in all competitions.

The 29-year-old is also a vital player for Portugal, turning out for his national side on 82 occasions, scoring three times in the process.

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