The last international break of the calendar year was wrapped up over the weekend with European nations learning their fate regarding qualification Euro 2024.
Portugal are one of the sides safely through to next summer’s tournament, finishing with maximum points from their ten qualifying fixtures.
Roberto Martinez men rounded off their campaign with a routine 2-0 victory against Iceland but it was an incident in the tunnel at half-time that grabbed the headlines, rather than the performance on the night.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva were caught sharing an awkward reaction toward Bruno Fernandes’ half-time pep talk with goalkeeper, Diogo Costa.
In a clip that surfaced on X, Fernandes appeared to be discussing something with Costa with Ronaldo and Silva in earshot of the conversation.
Nah, look how Ronaldo and Bernardo Silva reacted to Bruno’s analysis talk before the second half💀😠pic.twitter.com/juwUuJKKQv
— Freddy (@freddyCR7LA) November 20, 2023
The pair then made eye contact with each other before smirking and turning away from their teammates.
Ronaldo then jogged out of the tunnel with a bemused grin on his face to start the second half.
It’s unclear what Fernandes was saying and the reaction from Ronaldo and Silva could have been unrelated to the United captain but the clip makes for awkward viewing and suggests there could be a lack of respect from Ronaldo toward Fernandes.
The United man was in fine form once more for his country, lashing home a fine effort in the first half to set Portugal on their way.
Braga striker Ricardo Horta added to Bruno’s strike midway through the second period to put the cherry on a fine qualifying campaign for Martinez and his troops.
Portugal will be one of the favourites for the crown in Germany and the tunnel incident is unlikely to cause any disturbance in the happy Portuguese camp.
Bruno will hope to translate his international form to club level with United facing a tricky set of fixtures in the coming weeks.
Trips to Everton, Galatasaray and Newcastle are on the horizon before United’s next Premier League outing at Old Trafford midway through December.