Victorious Portugal united behind coach Jesus after Ronaldo exit

Portugal coach Jorge Jesus said his squad is united behind him as they shrugged off Cristiano Ronaldo's shock exit from the camp to beat Denmark 4-2 on Thursday. Ronaldo, the top scorer in the history of men's international soccer, departed the squad on Wednesday shortly after Jesus had said in a news conference that the 41-year-old would start on the bench for a second straight game. - Ronaldo's Portugal walkout is nothing new; he has a long history of rows with coaches Portugal showed no ill effects from the saga or Ronaldo's absence in Copenhagen as the defending champions maintained their perfect record in the UEFA Nations League. "There's nothing that should stop the group from being with me," Jesus told Sport TV, when asked about whether he feels the group is with him. "I understand the question. The important thing is what we have to do. The things that happen don't separate the group, they haven't separated us and they won't separate us." Asked if he would accept Ronaldo back if he wanted to return, Jesus said post-match: "A high-quality victory, with four goals, a top-level performance. It can't be overlooked, it's more important than everything that happened. "That's what I want to focus on. Returning to Portugal, the people will fight at the Dragao stadium." Jesus, who took over from Roberto Martinez following Portugal's World Cup round-of-16 exit, has put his team in pole position to reach the quarterfinals. "I have a squad that believes in my vision," he told RTP. "With so much individual quality, things come more easily. They're right behind me and my ideas." AC Milan striker Gonçalo Ramos took Ronaldo's place for the second straight game on Thursday and repaid his coach's faith by assisting João Cancelo's opener and then scoring his second goal in two games. "Above all, the new manager is a great help," Ramos said. "We have clearer ideas; we know exactly where each teammate is, both in defense and attack. "You can see that in our performance today, but also in our recent matches. We're improving day by day, and it's all part of a process. We're very happy with the win, once again against a good team." That backing for Jesus was echoed by midfielder Vitinha, who scored Portugal's decisive third goal before João Félix completed the win late won. "It's the work of the coach," he said when asked about Portugal's improvement. "We played an excellent game," the two-time Champions League winner with Paris Saint-Germain said. "I think beyond the win, the content of our game was great. I think it was our best display so far. We have been improving in these three games and what's true is that the more time we spend with the coach the more we are assimilating his ideas." Asked about Ronaldo's absence, he added: "We tried to focus just on the game. I think we gave an incredible response. Congratulations to the whole squad for that." Jesus said ahead of kickoff that he would not provide more details on what unfolded behind the scenes with Ronaldo until after Portugal wrap up the current international window by hosting Norway on Sunday. Defender Renato Veiga suggested that the whole squad had been given the same instruction. "I'm very close to Cris and he knows I have a great deal of affection for him, but I've been given instructions and I can't talk about the matter," he said. PA contributed to this report.