Joao Felix confident goals will come under new Portugal boss Jesus

Joao Felix believes it is only a matter of time before Portugal find their shooting boots under new boss Jorge Jesus after they beat Wales 1-0 in the Nations League on Thursday. 

Jesus was taking charge of Portugal for the first time following Roberto Martinez's departure, and his team made a blistering start to the match at Estadio Jose Alvalade. 

Portugal eventually took the lead in the 22nd minute through Joao Felix, who picked out the bottom-left corner from outside the box after good work from full-back Nuno Mendes. 

Cristiano Ronaldo spurned two chances at the end of a dominant first half that saw Portugal register 13 shots, their most in the opening 45 minutes of a game since November 2025 against Armenia (17). 

Ronaldo should have doubled Portugal's lead early in the second half, but he could only turn Ruben Neves' delivery over the crossbar, with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner then seeing a goal ruled out for offside soon after. 

But the Selecao were made to work for their win, with Wales coming on strong as the match progressed. Brennan Johnson lifted an effort onto the crossbar, with Ruben Dias on hand to clear Lewis Koumas' rebound off the line. 

Portugal are now unbeaten in their last 10 home matches in all competitions (W9 D1), while in competitive games it’s 13 unbeaten since a 1-0 defeat to Spain in September 2022 (W12 D1), and Joao Felix is confident things will only get better under Jesus. 

"We knew it wasn't going to be an easy game. Wales are a good team," Joao Felix told Sport TV. "The first game under a new coach is always difficult.

"We had very little time to work on the coach's game patterns, but I think that, overall, we played a great game and we deserve to be commended.

"I think we could see our dynamic, very attacking football, high pressing, without giving the opponent any space to breathe.

"We had 13 shots before half-time, which is a lot for the first half. I don't remember a single clear chance for them, when we had several.

"That's what people can expect. Attacking football, pressing, not letting opponents breathe and creating chances.

"We only scored one today, but in the next few games, if we continue like this, we will surely score more."

Joao Felix has now scored five goals across his last 10 starts for Portugal, while each of his last two goals have come from outside the box, as many as his first 11 for the national team, and he looks set to play a big role under Jesus.

The 26-year-old has worked with Jesus before at Al-Nassr, scoring 20 goals in 33 appearances on their way to the Saudi Pro League title in 2025-26. 

Jesus made the decision to deploy Joao Felix in the second striker position, just behind Ronaldo and with Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha and Pedro Neto around him. 

"I've always been myself; I always tried to do my best for the team, no matter what position I was playing," Joao Felix added.

"As I've always said, my position is right here, as a second striker. If this is the case, there is a much higher chance that things will go well.

"This is what happened last year. Today, the whole team delivered a good performance, and that's where I can help them the most."

It proved to be a frustrating match for Ronaldo, whose seven shots without scoring is his most in a game since a World Cup qualifier against Republic of Ireland in October 2025 (also seven).

Ronaldo was replaced by Goncalo Ramos in the 67th minute, and Jesus said the decision to substitute the Portugal captain was pre-planned. 

"I took him out 25 minutes before the end of the game because I thought it was important to have a fresh player on the pitch who was able to defend with pressure and not let the central defenders of Wales build the game," Jesus said. 

"I wanted to have a player at the first line with speed, and I knew that Goncalo Ramos could do that.

"I knew that Cris could stay a little longer, five to 10 minutes. But I would have taken him out anyway. I planned it."