CELEBRITY
Ronaldo steers Portugal past Switzerland, Spain held in Prague
Cristiano Ronaldo marshalled Portugal past Switzerland in the Nations League on Sunday (June 5) as Gavi made history becoming Spain’s youngest ever scorer.
Ronaldo scored two goals in four first half minutes and had a third ruled offside by VAR as Portugal crushed Switzerland 4-0 in Lisbon.
The Manchester United striker had set up William Carvalho for the opener with Joao Cancelo completing the rout to fire Portugal to the top of League A, Group 2, on goal difference from the Czech Republic.
In Prague, Jakub Pesek put the hosts in front before Gavi levelled with a low curling left-footer at the record age of 17 years and 304 days just before halftime. Jan Kuchta had the Czechs back in control with a delicate chip but Athletic Bilbao defender Inigo Martinez headed home in the final minute to salvage a 2-2 draw.
“It is wonderful to be able to say that we are disappointed to lose points against Spain,” said Czech captain Tomas Soucek. “We showed heart and great teamwork. If somebody told us that we would have four points before these two games, we would have taken it. We have started well and look forward to the next games.”
“We lacked fluency so the game was really tough” shrugged Spain coach Luis Enrique.
Martinez conceded it wasn’t Spain’s “finest” match. “We came away with a point, but the aim was to win. When you don’t win, when you have great difficulties, you come away disappointed.”
Spain reached the final of last year’s Nations League, beating European champions Italy in the semis before losing to France, and they enjoyed a relatively smooth qualification for the World Cup.
But they are now on the back foot in this competition and after their opening 1-1 stalemate with Portugal on Thursday are placed third in the group, two points adrift.
Elsewhere Northern Ireland extended their winless run in the competition to 12 with a drab goalless draw in Cyprus And Georgia are in command at the top of League C Group 4 after dishing out a 5-2 drubbing to Bulgaria while Manchester City’s new headline signing Erling Haaland produced the goals in Norway’s 2-1 win in Sweden.
The Norwegians top League B, Group 4 after two wins from Serbia, 4-1 winners over Slovenia. On Monday world champions France have their second run out in Split against Croatia with Kylian Mbappe one of several kep components of Didier Deschamps’ team to skip eve-of-match training.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward came off with a left knee niggle at half-time of Friday’s 2-1 loss by last year’s Nations League winners to Denmark at the Stade de France. Also missing were Karim Benzema, Kingsley Coman, N’Golo Kanté and Jules Kounde.
“We’ll see about tomorrow (Monday),” Deschamps said on Mbappe’s prospects of turning out against the team Les Bleus defeated to win the 2018 World Cup in Moscow.
Number two keeper Mike Maignan will earn his third call-up in place of Hugo Lloris with Presnel Kimpembe taking the captain’s armband in this League A, Group 1 tie.
-AFP
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo crossed one billion followers across his social media accounts, aided by his newly-launched YouTube channel that has attracted more than 60 million subscribers in just over three weeks.
Ronaldo, who scored his 900th career goal last week to help Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in the Nations League, is the first human being to reach a billion followers on social media, global media reports said.
“We’ve made history, one billion followers! This is more than just a number, it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and love for the game and beyond,” Ronaldo posted on X.
“You’ve been with me every step of the way, through all the highs and the lows. This journey is our journey… thank you for believing in me, for your support, and for being part of my life.”
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player reached the milestone with over 639 million followers on Instagram, 170 million on Facebook and 113 million on X.
The 39-year-old topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes this year, with off-field earnings of $60 million, boosted by his large social media following.
Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr will host Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
-Reuters
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo launched his YouTube channel on Wednesday and hundreds of thousands of subscribers signed up within a couple of hours.
The 39-year-old five-times Ballon D’Or winner plays for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
“The wait is over. My @YouTube channel is finally here! SIUUUbscribe and join me on this new journey,” Ronaldo posted on his social media accounts.
A couple of hours after posting his first video, 1.69M subscribers had joined he channel.
Ronaldo has 112.5 million followers on the X platform, 170 million on Facebook and 636 million on Instagram.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United player is preparing for his team’s Saudi Pro League opener against Al-Raed on Thursday.
-Reuters
Inter Miami will be the last club Argentina captain Lionel Messi plays for, the 36-year-old forward said on Wednesday, adding he feels “a little bit scared” at the thought of the day he decides to retire.
Messi, a World Cup winner with Argentina in 2022, has a contract with the Major League Soccer side until 2025 following his arrival last summer after a spell with French champions Paris St Germain.
“Inter Miami will be my last club. I love playing football. I enjoy everything even more because I am aware that there is less and less left,” Messi told ESPN.
“I’m not ready to leave football. I’ve done this all my life, I love playing football, I enjoy training, the day-to-day, the matches… And yes, there’s always a little bit of fear that it’s all over.”
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is preparing with his national team to defend their Copa America title, with the tournament kicking off on June 20 in the United States.
Argentina will take on Canada in the opening match before facing Group A rivals Chile on June 25 and Peru four days later.
-Reuters
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