The Seleccao captain’s blushes were spared by a super sub on a dramatic night at Jose Alvalade Stadium

Francisco Trincao’s two goals off the bench secured Portugal a thrilling 5-2 extra-time win over Denmark to reach the semi-finals of the Nations League.

Portugal looked to have got off to the perfect start when Patrick Dorgu was adjudged to have fouled Ronaldo in the box but the Al-Nassr striker’s abject, stuttering spot-kick was comfortably held by goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

The 40-year-old, who struggled in the 1-0 first leg defeat, was denied again by the Celtic stopper when his close-range header was pushed behind by the veteran. At the other end, Rasmus Hojlund brought a good, low stop out of Diogo Jota, before Vitinha whistled a shot just over the bar not long after.

Ronaldo would have breathed a sigh of relief seven minutes before the break when Joachim Andersen inadvertently headed in Bruno Fernandes’ corner for a comical own goal. The former Manchester United ace looked to have made it 2-0 on the night when he headed home from inside the six-yard box but the goal was ruled out due to an offside in the build-up.

Instead of pushing for a second, the hosts were nearly caught napping when Morten Hjulmand pounced on a loose ball on the edge of the box and rifled a shot narrowly wide of the post.

Denmark’s strong start to the second half was rewarded when Rasmus Kristensen’s looping header found its way into the corner to make it 1-1 in the 56th minute. Ronaldo then atoned for his meek penalty when he turned in Fernandes’ long-range piledriver, which bounced off the post, from a tight angle 18 minutes from time.

Their lead lasted just four minutes, though, as Dorgu pounced on Luis Dias’ lackadaisical backpass and then the 20-year-old’s slide-rule pass was tapped in by Manchester United team-mate Christian Eriksen.

Trincao flashed in a fierce drive shortly after coming on in the 86th minute but the visitors nearly won the tie at the death when the ball came through a morass of players, before dribbling agonisingly wide.

The super sub then delivered once again as he was in the right place at the right time to caress the ball past Schmeichel after Ramos’ snap-shot was saved in the 91st minute. Jota had the ball in the net but the Liverpool striker was offside in the build-up as the home team threatened to extend their lead.

A tiring Denmark were then put out of their misery when Ramos slotted in Jota’s cutback as Portugal earned a 5-3 aggregate victory to set up a last-four clash with Germany.