Football: USA look far from World Cup favorites after limping into last 16

 

AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- The United States came into the Women's World Cup as favorites to win a third title in a row but they head into the last 16 looking anything but champions after limping through the group stage.

There were already doubts about Vlatko Andonovski's side after an unimpressive 3-0 win over Vietnam in their opening game was followed by a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands.

Andonovski and his players put a positive spin on those displays but there were very few redeeming features about their performance on Tuesday, when they held on for a 0-0 draw with World Cup debutants Portugal to scrape through to the knockout phase.

Ana Capeta's shot that hit the post in injury time very nearly won the game for Portugal, which would have condemned the holders to an unthinkable group-stage exit.

But aside from surviving that scare, the underlying numbers are concerning for the Americans.

They had less of the possession at Eden Park and failed to score for the first time in 15 World Cup games, since a 0-0 draw with Sweden in the 2015 group phase.

They also had less of the possession in their draw with the Dutch, while their finishing has been poor since the tournament started.

"I don't think that was a good performance all together, starting from the back," admitted Andonovski.

"I don't think we were able to solve the problems that the opponents presented. There were moments where we did and it looked good, but those moments were very few and not enough to be able to walk out of here with several goals."

- Has the world caught up? -

The 46-year-old Andonovski is in the firing line.

It was always going to be a huge task for him to succeed Jill Ellis, who led the team to back-to-back World Cup triumphs in 2015 and 2019 before stepping down.

Andonovski brought a 23-player squad to New Zealand that featured 14 World Cup debutants, with injuries and retirement ruling out several veterans of recent successful campaigns.

There were high hopes placed in many of the novices, and the likes of Sophia Smith, Andi Sullivan and Trinity Rodman have impressed in moments.

But it is hard to escape the feeling that the rest of the world is catching up with the US fast.

The best women's club football these days is surely being played in Europe, where Barcelona have taken over from Lyon as the dominant force in the Champions League.

Yet captain Lindsey Horan, at Lyon, is the only member of the US team currently playing in Europe.

Could it be that the standard of play in the domestic NWSL is not at the level needed to prepare Andonovski's squad for the World Cup stage?

- Failing to fire -

Alex Morgan, who has played for the US in the last three World Cups, repeated an oft-used phrase in this tournament to explain her team's travails against Portugal.

"Every team in this World Cup is going to be difficult to play. The game is growing and the quality is continuing to rise," she said.

The US were the only team among the eight quarter-finalists at the last World Cup to hail from outside Europe, where standards have been rapidly rising.

Their difficulties against the Netherlands and Portugal so far this year suggest they will struggle against top European opposition in the knockout phase.

They now leave New Zealand to head to Australia for a last-16 tie on Sunday in Melbourne which will almost certainly be against Olympic silver medalists Sweden.

Andonovski will go into that game without Rose Lavelle due to suspension, which is a big blow.

He has decisions to make in attack too, with none of his front line firing against Portugal.

If they do make the quarter-finals, they will return to Auckland for a meeting with Norway or an ominous-looking Japan.

Asked by local media if they would be back in New Zealand at this World Cup, Morgan replied: "That is the plan. We want to make it back to the final and that includes coming back to New Zealand."

Right now such bullishness seems misplaced.

Agence France-Presse

Football: USA survive Portugal scare to reach World Cup last 16

AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Holders the United States survived a huge scare to reach the last 16 of the Women's World Cup on Tuesday after a 0-0 draw against Portugal, who were unlucky not to claim a sensational win at Eden Park that would have taken them through instead.

The USA struggled to impose themselves against opponents ranked 21st in the world and appearing at their first World Cup, and Portugal almost won the game in injury time when substitute Ana Capeta hit the post.

Holding on for the draw means Vlatko Andonovski's side finish in second place in Group E.

The Netherlands go through as group winners after a 7-0 demolition of a Vietnam side who were beaten just 3-0 by the Americans in their first match at the tournament.

That means pre-tournament favorites the USA will move to Australia to play a last-16 tie on Sunday against the winners of Group G, in all likelihood Olympic silver medalists Sweden.

Nothing about their performance here in front of almost 41,000 in Auckland, or in their two previous matches at the tournament, suggests the United States will find it easy going against a side who finished third at the last World Cup.

It is just the second time in Women's World Cup history that the USA have failed to top their group, although on the last occasion, in 2011, they reached the final before losing on penalties to Japan.

They had never before won just one group game, and the regression from four years ago in France is striking.

That time they won all three matches in the first phase, rattling in 18 goals without reply.

Andonovski has insisted a youthful new team will need time to find its feet, but an urgent step-up will be required if they are not to be eliminated early in the knockout phase.

The US have never before failed to reach the semi-finals in the eight prior editions of the World Cup.

- Lavelle handed start -

Andonovski made two changes from the 1-1 draw with the Netherlands, with Rose Lavelle rewarded for her game-changing role off the bench in that game with a first start at the tournament.

Savannah DeMelo made way for her, while Lynn Williams was brought in on the right wing as Trinity Rodman dropped out.

Portugal had to win to go through but played as if there was no pressure on them at all, with Andreia Norton shooting over early on and the lively Jessica Silva dragging a shot wide from a good position soon after.

They had more of the possession, and the much-fancied Americans struggled to match the intensity or aggression of a Portugal team who had beaten Vietnam 2-0 in their last match.

Starting a World Cup match for the first time, Williams found the going tough but did have her team's best chances in the opening half, including a snap-shot in stoppage time that was saved by goalkeeper Ines Pereira.

The US started better in the second half but Andonovski was alarmed enough to call for Megan Rapinoe, the veteran replacing Sophia Smith just after the hour mark.

Yet clear chances remained at a minimum and there were some nervy moments at the other end, like when Naomi Girma was booked for a panicked pull on Silva late on.

There was more panic in the US defence in the first minute of injury time when Capeta, who had just come on, smashed a shot off the upright as the holders grimly held on.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Ramos bags hat-trick as Portugal crush Swiss to reach World Cup quarters

DOHA, Qatar -- Goncalo Ramos justified the shock decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo by scoring a hat-trick on his full debut as Portugal demolished Switzerland 6-1 on Tuesday to power into the World Cup quarter-finals.

The 21-year-old Ramos, who started instead of Ronaldo, became the youngest player to strike three times in a World Cup knockout match since Pele in 1958.

Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro and Rafael Leao were also on target for a rampant Portugal, who booked a showdown with Morocco on Saturday for a place in the last four in Qatar.

"I think not even in my wildest dreams had I thought about being part of the starting XI for the knockout phase," said Ramos, who only made his Portugal debut in a pre-tournament friendly last month.

Switzerland, who had been hoping to reach a first quarter-final since hosting the 1954 World Cup, exited in the last 16 for the third time in a row.

"Defeat is painful. We are sad about how we played, about the result. We wanted to make our country happy but we didn't manage to achieve that," said Switzerland coach Murat Yakin.

Ronaldo, 37 and now without a club after his departure from Manchester United, has hogged the headlines during the tournament while looking a shadow of his former self.

The only man to score at five World Cups, Ronaldo was left out by coach Fernando Santos against the Swiss following his angry response to being substituted in the last group game.

Santos later said the decision to bench the Portugal star had been "strategic and nothing more", unrelated to his substitution against South Korea.

"I said that it was closed and it was closed," Santos said.

It was a bold call to omit a player with a record 118 international goals in favor of giving a first start to Ramos, the Benfica striker who had played just 33 minutes across three previous appearances.

- Instant impact -

But it took just 17 minutes for Ramos to reward Santos' faith, and to achieve something Ronaldo has never done -- score in a World Cup knockout game.

Joao Felix clipped delicately into the feet of Ramos, who quickly swiveled past Fabian Schaer and rifled into the roof of the net past a stunned Yann Sommer.

Otavio, who returned to the Portugal midfield after injury in their opening match, shot straight at Sommer before Ramos did likewise moments later.

Xherdan Shaqiri drew a fingertip stop from Diogo Costa with a dipping free-kick from distance, but Portugal soon had their second. 

Bruno Fernandes whipped in a corner and the 39-year-old Pepe towered above the Swiss defense to powerfully head home.

Diogo Dalot hacked Remo Freuler's header off the line after Diogo Costa failed to properly deal with a cross, but the Swiss simply had no answers against an irresistible Portugal.

Ramos turned in his second from close range six minutes into the second half from Dalot's cross down the right. 

He then turned provider by playing in Guerreiro to lash in another just four minutes later as the Swiss defence was ruthlessly ripped apart.

It was also Ramos who inadvertently glanced a corner towards Manuel Akanji at the far post as the Manchester City centre-back pulled one back for Switzerland.

Ramos completed his treble after more outstanding work from Felix, nonchalantly dinking over Sommer with one of his final touches before making way for Ronaldo.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner's introduction elicited the biggest roar of the night. Ronaldo did have the ball in the back of the net but it was ruled out for a clear offside.

Leao capped off a sensational Portugal performance with a terrific curling strike in stoppage time. 

Agence France-Presse

Football: Ronaldo equals international scoring record as Portugal edge into last 16

Cristiano Ronaldo scored two penalties to equal the all-time international goalscoring record and help holders Portugal edge into the last 16 of Euro 2020 with a 2-2 draw against France in Budapest on Wednesday.

Portugal will face the world's top-ranked side Belgium in the first knockout round in Seville on Sunday.

Fernando Santos' men moved through as one of the four best third-placed sides, for the second straight Euro, from Group F behind France and Germany, who only just qualified after a dramatic 2-2 draw with Hungary in Munich.

"We did everything I wanted us to do (in the 4-2 defeat) against Germany," Portuguese coach Santos told RTP. "The result was clearly fair."

Ronaldo gave his side the lead just after the half-hour mark with his first spot-kick, before France hit back through Karim Benzema's two goals either side of half-time.

But, with Portugal heading out as it stood with Hungary leading Germany, Ronaldo helped win and then scored their second penalty with half an hour remaining.

The 36-year-old's fifth goal of the group stage extended his record tally of Euro goals to 14 and drew him level with former Iran striker Ali Daei, in his 178th international match.

World champions France will next take on Switzerland in Bucharest on Monday.

"It was a fight, it wasn't easy," France coach Didier Deschamps told TF1. "We tried to win and at the end of the match, obviously, knowing the result of Germany, that allowed us to be first, which is the best place.

"I know very well that a new competition will be starting from the last 16."

The first real chance of the game fell to France forward Kylian Mbappe after quarter of an hour, but the 22-year-old's wait for a Euro goal was extended by Rui Patricio's parried save.

But it was Portugal who made the breakthrough, as they were awarded a 31st-minute penalty as France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris tried to punch the ball away, but instead caught Danilo Pereira in the face, leaving the Portugal midfielder needing treatment on the pitch.

Ronaldo stepped up, sending Lloris the wrong way.

- VAR controversy -

France drew themselves level in controversial circumstances in first-half stoppage time.

Referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz gave a penalty after Mbappe collided with Nelson Semedo while trying to get on the end of a pass into the box.

After a lengthy VAR check, the decision stood despite vociferous protestations from the Portugal players.

Benzema, who had missed his last three penalties, made no mistake from the spot this time, scoring his first goal for France since October 2015, having been recalled for the tournament after a five-and-a-half year exile over his alleged role in a blackmail scandal.

It was also the Real Madrid striker's first goal at a European Championship in his ninth match.

Unsurprisingly, Danilo was substituted at half-time after the blow to his head.

France moved in front for the first time shortly after the restart as Paul Pogba's excellent pass released Benzema to slot in off the post.

The linesman flagged the Frenchman offside, but a VAR check overturned the decision.

France were left without a recognised left-back when Lucas Digne hobbled off six minutes after coming on at the interval for Lucas Hernandez, who was booked in the first half.

But it was right-back Jules Kounde who conceded the second spot-kick for a handball from Ronaldo's cross, and the Juventus star stepped up to level the all-time record, with Lloris guessing incorrectly again.

Portugal knew a defeat would send them out if Hungary beat Germany, and they needed Patricio to make a wonderful double save midway through the second half.

Pogba cleverly created space for a long-range strike which Patricio managed to claw onto the angle of post and crossbar, with the Wolves 'keeper getting up quickly to dive and push away Antoine Griezmann's follow-up effort.

France had a penalty shout turned down in injury time despite another long VAR consultation, after Kingsley Coman went down under a challenge by Bruno Fernandes, who was brought on with 18 minutes to play after being left out from the start.

But with the other match over in Germany, France knew a draw would put them through as group winners and that was how it finished.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Ronaldo unaffected by Juventus setbacks, says Portugal coach

Criticism of Cristiano Ronaldo's performances for Juventus has had no impact on the forward's morale and he is ready to give 100% for Portugal in their World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan later on Wednesday, head coach Fernando Santos said.

Ronaldo came under fire after Juventus were knocked out in the Champions League last 16 earlier this month by 10-man Porto, who progressed on away goals.

Porto's decisive goal came from a free kick that went through the Portugal striker's legs as he turned in the defensive wall, with the front page of the Corriere dello Sport saying: "Betrayed by Ronaldo".

"When Cristiano is with the national team, he always comes with the same vision, the same passion, the same will, the same joy," Santos said.

"He always gives 100% when he comes to the national team.

"I don't think he has any problem in terms of mentality at the moment."

Ronaldo has been linked with a return to Real Madrid, who he left to join Juve in 2018, by some Spanish media outlets and Santos said he would be happy to talk to him about his future.

"I give advice to Cristiano personally. I was his head coach when he was 18, and we have a close relationship," Santos said.

"We talk a lot, but these are private conversations between friends. We don't really have a coach-player relationship, but it is different when he is in the national team. If he asks me for any advice, I will let him know what I think." (Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford )

-reuters-

Family of missing Madeleine McCann says police lead on new suspect 'very significant'

LONDON - The parents of Madeleine McCann, who disappeared in Portugal in 2007 at age 3, said on Thursday that the announcement of a new suspect was a potentially very significant development in the 13-year worldwide hunt for their daughter.

McCann disappeared from her bedroom on May 3 during a family holiday in the Algarve while her parents were dining with friends nearby in the resort of Praia da Luz.

British and German police appealed on Wednesday for information about a German child sex offender currently imprisoned in Germany. He was 30 at the time of McCann's disappearance.

"Kate and Gerry do feel it's potentially very significant," Clarence Mitchell, a spokesman for the family, told BBC radio. "They've never given up hope that she may still be found alive but they are realistic."

"Whatever the outcome of this particular line of investigation maybe, they do need to know what happened to their daughter to find peace and to bring whoever is responsible to justice," Mitchell said.

Police want to speak to anyone who has relevant information on a 43-year-old man, whom they did not name, or the movements of two vehicles linked to him during the period around the girl's disappearance. Both cars, a Volkswagen camper van and a Jaguar, are now in the possession of German police.

The suspect, German police said, lived in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007 - and for several years in a house near Praia da Luz - and burgled hotels and holiday flats as well as traded drugs.

German police said the man has been "sentenced on numerous occasions to prison terms for sexual abuse of children in the past."

They said they were treating the case as a suspected murder and had determined the method used to kill McCann. They did not believe the murder was pre-meditated and said the man was involved in crimes like break-ins and burglary. 

-reuters-

Ronaldo bags hat-trick, closes on 100 goals in Portugal rout

FARO, Portugal - Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo scored another treble, moving closer to 100 international goals, as he led the European champions to a 6-0 drubbing of Lithuania in a Euro 2020 qualifier on Thursday.

Ronaldo, whose hat-trick was the 55th of his career and ninth for Portugal, has 98 goals and could become only the second player to score a century for his country after Iran's Ali Daei.

Pizzi, Goncalo Paciencia and Bernardo Silva shared the other goals in the one-sided Group B match.

The European champions, however, were left waiting to secure a place at the finals after Serbia beat Luxembourg 3-2.

Portugal is in second place with 14 points, one ahead of Serbia, and will qualify if they win in Luxembourg on Sunday. Leaders Ukraine have already qualified.

Ronaldo showed no sign of the knee problem which led to him being substituted in his last 2 games for Juventus -- prompting an angry reaction on the second occasion -- and could easily have reached a century of goals on Thursday.

Coach Fernando Santos declared that he never had any doubts about Portugal's most-capped player.

"I asked him if he was okay to play, it was just a case of having a conversation with him," he said. "I never had any doubts about his condition, it was other people who had them. Nothing surprises me about Cristiano."

Ronaldo was quick off the mark, winning and converting a penalty in the seventh minute.

The 34-year-old got to the ball ahead of Saulius Mikoliunas, who clipped his heel, and sent his spot kick down the middle, hitting goalkeeper Ernestas Setkus' foot on the way in.

Lithuania paid for more sloppiness 15 minutes later as they lost the ball in midfield and Paciencia slipped the ball quickly to Ronaldo who produced a wicked, dipping first-time shot which flew past the bemused Setkus from 25 meters.

He had another shot on the turn saved by Setkus and blasted over after bursting into the box before the break.

Pizzi, Paciencia and Silva scored in an 11-minute spell after halftime and Ronaldo sent 2 efforts agonizingly wide as the siege continued.

He completed his hat-trick from Silva's pass in the 65th minute before Paciencia set him up nicely for a fourth but Ronaldo fired the easy chance over the bar.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Holiday island mourns after bus crash kills 29 German tourists

Portugal and Germany mourned on Friday after 29 German tourists died when their bus tumbled down a slope and crashed into a house on the tourist island of Madeira.

Drone footage showed the mangled wreckage lying against a building on a hillside near the town of Canico, the vehicle's roof partially crushed and front window smashed.

Rescue workers attended to injured passengers on the grass where the bus rested nearby, some of them bearing bloodied head bandages and blood-stained clothes.

A woman who survived the accident said on the TVI television channel that the bus crashed after hitting a wall.

"It happened just after the bus started, one minute or a few seconds later. People were flying through the windows," said the woman, who was not named.

"Some people were crying for help and we could immediately see some people were dead," said her husband, who also survived the crash. "Help arrived very fast."

Local authorities said most of the dead were aged in their 40s and 50s. Twelve men and 17 women were among the victims, an official at the Nelio Mendonca hospital, Tomasia Alves, told reporters.

They were among the more than one million tourists who visit the Atlantic islands off the coast of Morocco each year, attracted by their subtropical climate and rugged volcanic terrain.

"It is with sadness and dismay that I think of our compatriots and all the other people affected by the terrible bus accident in Madeira," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a statement.

"My sincere condolences go above all to those families that have lost loved ones in this tragedy," she added, thanking the Portuguese emergency services for their efforts.

- Investigation launched -

Witnesses and officials said the 50-odd tourists had left their hotel on their way to the regional capital Funchal for dinner when the bus crashed on Wednesday.

Local media said two Portuguese nationals survived the crash: the driver and a tour guide.

Prosecutors have opened a probe. The vice-president of the regional government Pedro Calado said it was "premature" to attribute the cause of the accident.

He said the bus was five years old and had been recently inspected.

The injured were "in a state of shock, with memories of terrible images. An injured woman said she had lost her partner," Ilse Everlien Berardo, the pastor at the German Evangelical church in Madeira, told Germany's RTL network.

Frankfurt-based tour operator Trendtours said 51 of its customers were involved in the accident. Another company, Schauinsland, said it also had two customers in the crash.

The companies sent their condolences to victims' families and said they were sending teams to Madeira to offer support.

Trendtour said the bus had been hired by a local operator and crashed off the road "for a reason still unknown."

- Makeshift morgue -

A makeshift morgue has been set up at the airport in Funchal, local media reports said. Medical teams will be flown in from Lisbon to carry out autopsies.

German holidaymakers were the second largest group after British tourists to visit Madeira in 2017, according to Madeira's tourism office.

Known as the Pearl of the Atlantic and the Floating Garden, Madeira is home to just 270,000 inhabitants.

The Portuguese government decreed three days of national mourning.

"I express the sorrow and solidarity of all the Portuguese people in this tragic moment, and especially for the families of the victims who I have been told were all German," President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa told Portuguese television.

Alves said the hospital hoped to begin returning victims' bodies to their families by Saturday.

The last serious bus accident in Madeira occurred in December 2005, killing five Italian tourists in Sao Vicente. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Football: Injured Ronaldo limps off in Portugal qualifier

Portugal paid the price for poor finishing after their captain and top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo was forced off the pitch with an apparent hamstring problem during their Euro 2020 Group B qualifier against Serbia on Monday.

A 1-1 home draw, which followed a 0-0 stalemate against Ukraine on Friday, left European champions Portugal on two points and Ronaldo on the sidelines after he limped off in the 30th minute of an absorbing contest.

The 34-year-old pulled up after sprinting for the ball and was replaced by midfielder Pizzi with Serbia leading 1-0 through Dusan Tadic's early penalty.

Central midfielder Danilo equalised with a long-range effort in the 42nd minute but the home side missed a string of chances as they lacked Ronaldo's killer instinct against a rugged Serbian defence.

Ronaldo appeared to be pointing towards his right hamstring as he received treatment near the corner flag.

Speaking later he said: "We played quite well and created lots of chances. We played better than against Ukraine, but when the ball doesn't want to go in, it simply doesn't go in."

Serbia coach Mladen Krstajic played down the impact of Ronaldo's misfortune as he was quick to point out that his injury-hit side missed several key players.

"As far as whether Portugal missed Ronaldo, you must know that we were missing lots of players -- and we do not have a huge selection to choose from, like some countries do," he said.

Ronaldo, whose club Juventus visit Ajax Amsterdam in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on April 10, was making only his second Portugal appearance since last year's World Cup. 

(Writing by Ken Ferris and Zoran Milosavljevic ; Editing by Martyn Herman)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Portugal qualify for Nations League semis with 0-0 draw in Italy

MILAN - Portugal became the first team to qualify for the Nations League semi-finals when they held Italy 0-0 on Saturday, the second time in a year that the hosts have been knocked out of a competition following a goalless draw at the San Siro.

Italy, with defender Giorgio Chiellini making his 100th appearance, suffocated Portugal in the first hour with their pressing and created numerous openings with their intricate passing moves.

But they ran out of steam in the last half hour and the European champions held out fairly comfortably.

Portugal have seven points from three games in the three-team group, two ahead of Italy who have finished their campaign. Poland, who visit Portugal for the group's final game on Tuesday, have one point and have already been relegated.

They are also in line to host the semi-finals and finals in June as Italy and Poland were the only other two countries to express an interest in staging the tournament. The decision still has to be ratified by UEFA on Dec. 3.

Last November, Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 60 years after being held by Sweden at the same stadium in Milan.

"We suffered in the first half when we had a lot of difficulty," said Portugal coach Fernando Santos. "The first 15 minutes of the second half were more even and after that we were no longer under pressure. The result ended up being a fair one as Portugal were better in the second half."

A small part of the crowd booed Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci, who left AC Milan after one season at the club to return to Juventus in August.

Italy had an early chance when Lorenzo Insigne's long-range shot was parried by Rui Patricio and Ciro Immobile blasted the rebound over the bar.

In what was a hugely promising display by Roberto Mancini's side, Alessandro Florenzi drove a low shot narrowly wide before Marco Verratti threaded a ball through to Immobile and this time Patricio saved the shot with his leg.

Another neat moved ended with Jose Fonte blocking Federico Chiesa's shot early in the second half.

Portugal, who have not picked Cristiano Ronaldo since the World Cup by mutual agreement, were more threatening as the game wore on.

Substitute Joao Mario shot over on the turn after Joao Cancelo worked an opening on the right and Gianluigi Donnarumma made a difficult save from William Carvalho's low shot.

Lorenzo Pellegrini's header was comfortably saved by Patricio as Italy had a final fling in stoppage time.

"I think it was an excellent performance, although we had a quiet spell in the second half and we obviously have to do that little bit more to find the goal," said Italy coach Roberto Mancini.

"It was a step forward in relation to the last game against Poland. We are on the right track."

(Writing by Brian Homewood Editing by Toby Davis)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Big wave, small man

Spanish big wave surfer Axi Muniain drops in on a large wave at Praia do Norte in Nazare, Portugal, Wednesday. The Nazaré coast of Portugal is home to some of the world's biggest waves. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Ronaldo sets Portugal on way to Confederations Cup semis

ST PETERSBURG - European champions Portugal comfortably dispatched New Zealand 4-0 to reach the Confederations Cup semi-finals on Saturday after Cristiano Ronaldo set them on their way with a penalty.

Portugal's all-time leading scorer swept the ball home in the 33rd minute, his 75th goal for his country, and Bernardo Silva added the second four minutes later.

A solo effort from Andre Silva, his eighth goal in 11 appearances, in the 80th minute and a stoppage-time goal from substitute Nani completed the scoring.

It was a typically efficient performance from Portugal who never looked in real danger despite a sluggish start.

However, it was not all good news as Bernardo Silva went off injured at halftime, while a needless and reckless challenge from Pepe, with his side 2-0 up, earned the controversial central defender his second yellow card of the tournament, ruling him out of Wednesday's semi-final.

"It was an odd game - we were in control, but they started creating problems, and if it had got back to 2-1, it could have got complicated," said Portugal coach Fernando Santos.

New Zealand goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic, who helped Unterhaching win promotion from the German fourth division last season, kept the score down with a superb second-half display.

The Oceania champions were far from disgraced but have now competed in the tournament four times without winning a game and have an overall record of 11 defeats and a draw in 12 matches.

Even so, coach Anthony Hudson was proud of his side, who refused to shut up shop in the second half.

"We know we've played some really good football at times. We never stopped. We created chances, we put them under pressure, so we could have got a little more out of this tournament," he told reporters.

"This team are on the right path, they have got great character, great belief and it's a young team moving in the right direction."

Portugal topped Group A with seven points from three games, ahead of Mexico on goal difference after the CONCACAF champions beat hosts Russia 2-1. New Zealand finished bottom of the group after losing all three games.

Ronaldo had already headed against the crossbar before firing Portugal ahead after Danilo went tumbling under a challenge from two defenders and the referee pointed to the spot without asking for a video replay.

Bernardo Silva turned Eliseu's low cross into the net four minutes later, although he suffered a knock on the ankle in the process.

Marinovic made impressive saves to deny Ronaldo, Andre Silva and Nani but was powerless stop Andre Silva when he collected the ball on the halfway line, ran at two defenders who backed off, and fired his shot into the far corner.

Nani completed the scoring with his 25th international goal.

(Writing by Brian Homewood, editing by Ed Osmond, Neville Dalton)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Portugal's democracy founder Mario Soares dies aged 92

LISBON - Portugal's former president Mario Soares, widely seen as the father of the country's modern-day democracy, died Saturday aged 92 a fortnight after being admitted to hospital.

The founder of Portugal's Socialist party, Soares spent decades in politics and spearheaded the country's entry into the European Union. He was president from 1986 to 1996 after serving as foreign minister and prime minister, and later became a European lawmaker.

Portugal declared three days of national mourning from Monday and his state funeral will be held Tuesday, the presidential office told AFP.

"We have lost today someone who has so many times been the face and the voice of our freedom, for which he fought all his life," said the country's current prime minister and fellow Socialist Antonio Costa.

Soares had been admitted to hospital in Lisbon on December 13, and although his condition initially showed signs of some improvement, he later fell into a deep coma from which he never recovered.

The hospital did not reveal the precise cause of Soares's death, but relatives say he never fully overcame a spate of illnesses in 2013. His health further deteriorated after his wife's death in July 2015.

The new United Nations secretary-general, ex-Portuguese premier Antonio Guterres, hailed Soares as "one of the rare political leaders who had real stature in both Europe and the world."

Former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff said that Soares was "adored by the people and respected by his adversaries."

- 'Fighter for freedom' -
Born in Lisbon on December 7, 1924, Mario Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares was raised in a family opposed to the dictatorship of Antonio Oliveira Salazar.

His father Joao Soares, a defrocked priest, struggled against the regime for decades, suffering long periods of imprisonment and exile.

Reassuringly portly, Mario Soares was both a charmer and a humanist known for being spontaneous and warm.

A self-defined agnostic, Soares said he believed in "humanity and its improvement", and described himself as being driven by "a great desire to live and by immense curiosity".

"I am a poor man who has been fortunate to have taken stands and to have been right," he told the "i" newspaper in February 2015.

His biggest achievement as premier was negotiating Portugal's entry in 1986 into the European Economic Community, the precursor to the European Union.

Several politicians, including Costa and President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, had visited Soares in hospital in recent weeks and news of his death brought emotional tributes from all political sides.

"He was a fighter for freedom," said conservative leader Rebelo de Sousa, adding that Portugal must fight for "the immortality of his legacy".

"It is a sad day for all Portuguese," added the head of the centre-right opposition Pedro Passos Coelho.

There was also sorrow on the streets of Lisbon on Saturday.

"His death saddens me. Even in his old age, he was someone who said what he thought," said Paula Cabecadas, a 60-year-old bookseller.

"For me he was like a dinosaur: this huge figure from the past who will be hard to match in the future," said 22-year-old student Miguel Pinto.

- Critic of austerity -

On the international stage, Soares was also seen as a political giant, "a great European" and the "decisive figure for Portuguese democracy," said Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

Soares was "the symbol and the artisan of resistance to the dictatorship and the transition of his country to democracy," said European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.

French President Francois Hollande said Portugal's democracy had lost "one of its heroes; Europe, one of its great leaders; and France, a faithful friend".

European Parliament head Martin Schulz described Soares as "more than historical figure: he's an inspiration. He advanced freedom, equality and dignity."

While Soares retired from public life for several months after a crushing presidential election defeat in 2006, he appeared regularly in the media to comment on current affairs.

He emerged as a fierce critic of the steep spending cuts Portugal was forced to implement under a 78-billion-euro bailout deal reached in 2011 with the EU and IMF to avert bankruptcy.

Soares accused big European nations at the time of being guided by "savage capitalism".

He made a final public appearance in July, when he attended a ceremony held in his honour by the ruling Socialist-led government.

Visibly frail, he did not make a speech.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Pogba fires France as Belgium, Portugal run riot

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- A searing first-half strike from Paul Pogba handed France a 1-0 win at rivals the Netherlands as Belgium and Portugal clocked up 6-0 victories and Christian Benteke grabbed a slice of World Cup qualifying history.

Criticised by coach Didier Deschamps for his performance in Friday's 4-1 win over Bulgaria in Paris, the world's most expensive footballer emphatically replied with a towering display for Les Bleus in Amsterdam in the most eye-catching fixture on Monday.

The Manchester United midfielder's powerful hit from 25 metres out after half an hour left diving Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg able to get his hands to the fizzing ball but unable to stop it.

"I didn't speak to him (Pogba), I just said a few words to him before entering the changing rooms, 'I have confidence in you,'" said Deschamps.

"The match confirms what he is able to do. Pogba was much better in everything he did. He showed what he can do.

"We never doubted he could do it. We mustn't forget Paul is relatively young and he can still progress."

France, losing finalists on home soil at Euro 2016, are equal on seven points at the top of Group A with Sweden, who beat Bulgaria 3-0 at home in Solna. The two countries will play on November 11 at the Stade de France.

Pogba, 23, was imperial in front of a central defence made up of Raphael Varane and Laurent Koscielny, who pushed back wave after wave of Dutch attacks.

And Pogba nearly doubled his account with a header off a Dimitri Payet corner on 66 minutes just lacking power.

"If the team has a good match, I have a good match," said a defiant Pogba. "If it's a bad match, I have a bad match.

"We're not going to talk about individual performances. It's true it's not always nice to hear criticism, 'bad things' about myself. There wasn't any answer. Today it was a good team effort."

The French had a slight scare in the final minute but Hugo Lloris did well to keep out a Memphis Depay effort on the line.

"It's an important win for us, even if we could have had a larger lead," said Deschamps.

"We could have hurt them more in the first half. It's good to have got these two victories."

The Dutch failed to make it to the Euros and now sit third in the group, needing to improve fast if they are to make it to Russia in 2018.

"Our goalkeeper made a mistake which he never makes in training," said coach Danny Blind.

"We played better in the second half and we should have had at least a point because we had chances at the end of the match."

- Quick-fire -

Belgium and Portugal went on goal sprees against minnows Gibraltar and the Faroe Islands.

Belgium striker Benteke set a new World Cup record for the fastest goal ever -- just seven seconds -- on his way to a hat-trick in Faro.

Belgium top Group H on nine points out of nine, ahead of Greece on goal difference.

The 25-year-old Crystal Palace forward picked up the ball in the first action in Faro and racing towards goal with the Gibraltar defence in disarray left goalie Deren Ibrahim with no chance.

Benteke's quick-fire goal eclipsed the previous best of 8.3 seconds achieved by San Marino's Davide Gualtieri in a World Cup qualifier against England in November 1993.

Portugal, bidding to catch Group B leaders Switzerland, matched their 6-0 win over Andorra on Friday.

Andre Silva scored a hat-trick for the European champions before captain Cristiano Ronaldo netted his fifth goal in four days, with Joao Cancelo and Joao Moutinho also scoring late on.

Switzerland maintained their unbeaten run, coming away 2-1 winners from Andorra with Fabian Schaer and Admir Mehmedi scoring in either half.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Portugal stuns France to win Euro 2016

PARIS - Portugal found an unlikely hero as Eder's thunderous finish deep into extra time secured their first European Championship title after they overcame the early loss of Cristiano Ronaldo to snatch a 1-0 victory over hosts France on Sunday.

The substitute picked the perfect time to score his first competitive goal for his country, marauding forward before letting fly with a bullet shot from 25 metres in the 109th minute.

It was a magic moment for the 28-year-old, who plays for French club Lille after a largely unglamorous career, and a cruel blow for France and their coach Didier Deschamps.

His side had dominated the match, but squandered a number of chances, in front of their devastated home support, who arrived at the Stade de France hoping to celebrate a third European crown.

The trophy was lifted triumphantly by Portugal captain Ronaldo, who broke down in tears at the final whistle after his own game had come to a frustrating end after 24 minutes when he was carried off the pitch on a stretcher with a knee injury.

The script had been written for him to produce a performance to match his status as one of the game's greats, but he had to settle for a back-stage role after Dimitri Payet's challenge left him in a heap on the floor.

So much of the build-up had focused on Ronaldo and his hopes of crowning a glittering career with the only achievement missing from his CV, a piece of international silverware.

That was achieved, but, with Eder stealing the limelight and his own role reduced to that of a cajoling cheerleader, it was probably not how Ronaldo would have envisaged his evening panning out.

Yet having been part of the Portugal side that were stunned in the final as hosts by Greece in 2004, he celebrated wildly with his team mates as ticker tape rained down from the rafters.

"This is one of the happiest moments in my career," he said. "I've always said I wanted to win a trophy with the national team and make history. And I did it. Thank God, things went well for us."

Coach Fernando Santos, whose side had won only one match inside 90 minutes out of seven at the tournament, hailed a perfectly executed tactical display.

"We were as simple as doves and as wise as serpents," he said.

"Wherever we've gone there have always been Portuguese fans. This lifted our souls. It's hard to describe the players' emotions -- it's incredible."

DEBILITATING DEFEAT

For France it was a debilitating defeat after they had come into the match as heavy favourites and hoping to lift the spirits of a nation still recovering from last November's attacks in Paris.

"We missed a chance, maybe not a unique chance, but a great chance to become European champions," Deschamps said.

"Our disappointment is immense and will take time to digest. We won together, we suffered together and we lost together. It would have been magnificent to offer this trophy to our supporters, here at home."

For the much of the match, there had looked like being only one winner as France began with early attacking intent, fuelled by the bullish presence and charging runs of Moussa Sissoko in midfield.

His 34th-minute shot was well-parried by Portugal keeper Rui Patricio, but by that point the match had settled into a pattern of France probing and pushing but struggling to break down their more defensively-minded opponents.

Without Ronaldo, Portugal seemed in no hurry to rush the ball forward, happy to see the game descend into a cagey, tactical battle.

They had a scare, however, in the 67th minute when Kingsley Coman's cross found Antoine Griezmann unmarked six metres from goal, only for the tournament's top scorer to head a golden opportunity over.

Minutes later, Olivier Giroud, fed by sprightly substitute Coman, forced a diving save from Patricio, who then parried away a pile-driver from Sissoko as France turned the screw.

France's best chance of the night arrived in stoppage time when substitute Andre-Pierre Gignac turned his marker inside out before scuffing a shot past the keeper and against the post, with the ball bouncing across the face of goal and then out of harm's way.

While Portugal continued to sit back in extra time, they had the better chances with Eder's header parried by Hugo Lloris and Raphael Guerreiro striking the crossbar with a free kick before Eder's moment of magic.

(Editing by Ed Osmond/Greg Stutchbury)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

'Dragon-slayer' Ronaldo shatters Wales big night

LYON -- Cristiano Ronaldo became the "Dragon-slayer" as his record-equaling ninth European Championship goal helped power Portugal past Real Madrid teammate Gareth Bales' Wales and into the Euro 2016 final.

Ronaldo brilliantly rose above the Wales' defense to score his country's first goal in the 2-0 win in front of 50,000 fans in the Stade de Lyon on Wednesday.

Nani deflected the Portugal hero's shot for the decisive second goal that saw their country into Sunday's final against tournament hosts France or world champions Germany.

Ronaldo and Bale had not spoken in the tournament before Wednesday's match. With victory sealed, Ronaldo embraced his club teammate at the end.

"The team did a marvelous job to reach the final. I hope on Sunday you'll see me crying with joy," said Ronaldo, who as a 19-year-old wept on the pitch after Portugal lost 1-0 to Greece as hosts of the Euro 2004 final.

"I have always dreamed of winning for Portugal -- I hope it is our time now.

"I am very confident. I deserve it, Portugal deserves it, all the Portuguese people deserve it."

Bale paid tribute to the three-time world player of the year with whom he has not always had an easy relationship in Madrid.

"He's a natural goal-scorer and he scored yet again," said Bale. "We're obviously massively disappointed. We've got to be proud of ourselves first and foremost."

Amazing run

"We gave everything, we have no regrets," he added, predicting Wales would be a force in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

"We've given everything, on the pitch, off the pitch," Bale said of Wales stunning campaign in their first major tournament since 1958 when it took a Pele goal to beat them in the World Cup quarter final.

British media called the 31-year-old Ronaldo the "Dragon-slayer" as they recounted how the sharpshooter had stunned Welsh fans brandishing flags and t-shirts with the national red dragon symbol.

Bale had the better of the first half showing off his pace and power to threaten the Portuguese goal.

But five minutes into the second period, Raphael Guerreiro curled a cross to the back post and Ronaldo leapt above James Chester to head past Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.

Three minutes later, Nani, who has just completed a move from Turkey's Fenerbahce to Valencia in Spain, instinctively pushed out his leg to deflect a Ronaldo shot past Hennessy.

Tens of thousands of fans celebrated in Lisbon's Praca do Comercio. Heads dropped in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Ronaldo said he had congratulated Bale on Wales' "amazing run."

"They were the revelation team. I wished him good luck and as for the rest (of the conversation) I'd rather not say."

Ronaldo is desperate to win on Sunday at the Stade de France in what could be his last big chance of winning a Euro or world title.

Portugal did not win a match in regulation 90 minutes before the semi-final.

"Maybe it didn't start as we wanted, but this is not a 100 metre dash, it is a marathon," said the captain.

'My flag, my fatherland'

Portugal coach Fernando Santos, 61, said the final will be the highlight of his long and much-traveled career.

Santos said he would be closely analyzing Thursday's game between France and Germany for potential weaknesses.

"It is my country, my flag, my fatherland, so from a personal point of view it is very important for me.

"Two very strong teams face off tomorrow. I will watch the game very attentively to analyse our opponent."

Germany were boosted ahead of the Marseille game by the news that captain Bastian Schweinsteiger had recovered from injury and would start the match.

But they will still be missing centre-back Mats Hummels through suspension and striker Mario Gomez and midfielder Sami Khedira through injury.

France, like Portugal, have become stronger as the tournament has progressed and hammered Iceland 5-2 in the quarter-final while Germany needed a penalty shootout to beat Italy.

There is an air of revenge for France, whose fans have never forgotten a 1982 defeat in a World Cup semi-final when Patrick Battiston suffered serious injuries.

French coach Didier Deschamps wants a win to end a run of three defeats in major competitions -- including 1982 -- against their neighbours and rivals.

"We can't change past history, but we've got our own page to write," said Deschamps. "We're facing the best team in the world, but the lads have to believe."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Ronaldo and Portugal grab quarters place at Euro 2016

LENS, France -- Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal snatched a place in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 on Saturday as the Real Madrid superstar's parried shot was headed into a gaping net by Ricardo Quaresma to defeat Croatia late in extra-time.

The 1-0 win in a game which only burst into life in the final minutes in Lens earned Ronaldo's side a quarter-final meeting with Poland in Marseille on Thursday.

After scraping through their group without a single victory, Portugal's star power finally shone through just as the match seemed to be heading for penalties.

"The best team doesn't always win and that happened tonight," Croatia coach Ante Cacic said.

Poland progressed to the quarter-finals of a Euros for the first time by beating Switzerland in a penalty shootout in Saint-Etienne, delighting celebrity fan Russell Crowe.

Arsenal-bound Granit Xhaka's wild and wide spot kick cost the Swiss dear as the Poles were a perfect five from five from the spot.

"POL!!! Final 8!!!" tweeted "Gladiator" star Crowe, who has taken this rugged Polish team and swashbuckling winger Jakob Blaszczykowski to his heart.

- Post-Brexit clash -

Ronaldo's Real Madrid teammate Gareth Bale failed to score for Wales in a post-Brexit all-British clash against Northern Ireland, but his cross was deflected into his own net by Gareth McAuley for the decisive goal.

The 1-0 win at a raucous Parc des Princes in Paris was probably the dullest game of the tournament so far, but Bale said Wales could not care less as they reached the last eight of a major tournament for the first time since the 1958 World cup.

"It's an ugly win but who cares," said Bale.

"You can't ask for any more. It's incredible."

Wales will face Belgium or Hungary in Lille on Friday for a place in the semi-finals.

In Lens, a Croatia team that has played some of the most attractive football of the finals failed to find a way past the Portuguese defence.

Ronaldo was muzzled for the vast majority of a dull encounter that became the first match in Euros history in which neither team managed a shot on target during the regulation 90 minutes.

Domagoj Vida had a golden chance to settle the game for Croatia but headed wide after Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio failed to collect a corner.

However, Patricio saved his country seconds later when he turned Ivan Perisic's header onto the post.

Portugal then snatched their first victory of the tournament at the death as Quaresma was perfectly positioned to head in after Subasic saved Ronaldo's low shot.

A jubilant Quaresma sprinted to the corner flag where he disappeared under a heap of celebrating teammates.

- Goal of the tournament -
At Saint-Etienne's Stade Geoffrey Guichard, Blaszczykowski opened the scoring for Poland but Switzerland drew level in spectacular style with Xherdan Shaqiri's bicycle kick, a potential goal of the tournament.

When the teams could not be separated in extra-time, it was Xhaka who cracked first in the penalty shootout, blasting well wide with Switzerland's second spot kick.

The Poles scored all five penalties, rounded off by Grzegorz Krychowiak's emphatic finish which put his nation into the quarter-finals of a major tournament for the first time since the 1982 World Cup.

"I'm delighted, it was a historic moment for us, because we are in the top eight in Europe," Blaszczykowski said.

After Crowe added his congratulations, European Union president Donald Tusk, who is Polish, shared his nation's joy, tweeting: "I have waited for this for so many years! My God I am happy!"

France's clash with the Republic of Ireland on Sunday, which evokes memories of Thierry Henry's infamous handball in a 2009 World Cup playoff, was given further edge with a row over tickets.

Ireland coach Martin O'Neill is angry because Irish fans received just 4,500 tickets for the match in the 59,000-capacity Stade de Lyon.

"It's totally disproportionate for a stadium of this size," O'Neill complained.

"For us, or any team that was going to be playing in the round of 16 here, to be allocated less that 5,000 tickets is, I think, pretty unfair, honestly."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com