Porto, Portugal | AFP | Portugal’s victory in the inaugural Nations League sparked celebrations long into the night in Porto on Sunday, but the hosts were far from the only ones happy at the end of UEFA’s attempt to add more competition to the international calendar. A complex format that saw …
Read More »Wijnaldum backs Van Dijk for Ballon d’Or recognition
Porto, Portugal | AFP | Virgil van Dijk deserves to win the Ballon d’Or should the Netherlands beat hosts Portugal to lift the first ever Nations League on Sunday, according to his club and international teammate Georginio Wijnaldum. Van Dijk was named man of the match as Liverpool claimed the Champions …
Read More »Portugal rely on Ronaldo to get better of Van Dijk
Porto, Portugal | AFP | Portugal’s meeting with the Netherlands to decide the first ever winners of the Nations League on Sunday sees the unstoppable force of Cristiano Ronaldo face the immovable object in Virgil van Dijk. Ronaldo sat out the early stages of UEFA’s new competition to save his 34-year-old …
Read More »Ronaldo hat-trick sends Portugal into Nations League final
Porto, Portugal | AFP | Cristiano Ronaldo hit a hat-trick as Portugal withstood a huge moment of VAR controversy to beat Switzerland 3-1 and reach the Nations League final on home soil in Porto. Ronaldo’s free-kick opened the scoring midway through the first half, but the Swiss levelled when the referee …
Read More »Lisbon nights: the ‘melting pot’ inspiring Madonna
Lisbon, Portugal | AFP | In a neighbourhood bar on a cobbled square in Lisbon’s historic working-class Alfama district, an eclectic mix of punters pull up little wooden stools around a dozen intimately lit tables. On the walls hang guitars and an old piano stands ready to accompany that evening’s music, …
Read More »Ronaldo included in Portugal squad for Nations League finals
Lisbon, Portugal, | AFP | Captain Cristiano Ronaldo was included in Portugal’s squad for next month’s Nations League semi-final against Switzerland, head coach Fernando Santos announced on Thursday. Ronaldo, 34, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner missed the group stages preferring to try and adapt to life in Juventus since moving …
Read More »Angola president fights ‘wasp nest’ of corruption in country
Lisbon, Portugal | AFP | Angolan President Joao Lourenco on Thursday compared the fight against corruption in his country to “touching a wasps nest”, a day after his predecessor Jose Eduardo dos Santos refuted allegations he emptied the state’s finances. Dos Santos, who stepped down in September 2017 following 38 …
Read More »Ronaldo’s last-gasp two-goal show steals Salah limelight
Zurich, Switzerland | AFP | Cristiano Ronaldo hit two goals in stoppage time as European champions Portugal defeated Egypt 2-1 in a friendly international on Friday, winning his personal duel with Mohamed Salah who had put the seven-time African champions ahead. Ronaldo, appearing in his 900th career match, made his mark …
Read More »Portuguese medics clear woman’s bid to bear grandchild
Lisbon, Portugal | AFP | Portugal has approved its first surrogate mother — a 50-year-old grandmother who will bear a child to allow her daughter to start a family, media reports said on Saturday. The Portuguese Council for Assisted Birth late Friday unanimously approved the request of a 30-year-old woman who …
Read More »Eucalyptus gets the chop after deadly Portugal forest fires
Lisbon, Portugal | AFP | Portugal is to reduce the number of eucalyptus groves after the highly flammable plant was blamed for last month’s deadly forest fires. Parliament voted for the measure Wednesday as part of ongoing forest law reforms that started in April, before the blaze in the central Pedrogao …
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