Paris (AFP) – Spain won a second successive UEFA Nations League match on Sunday with a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic while rivals Portugal conceded a goal after just 57 seconds to lose to Switzerland. Spain went in front in Malaga after 24 minutes when a perfectly-weighted pass by Marco Asensio released Carlos Soler […]

Lisbon (AFP) – Portugal scored twice in five minutes to beat the Czech Republic on Thursday and open up a two-point lead at the top of Group A2 in the Nations League. Joao Cancelo and Goncalo Guedes were on target in the 33rd and 38th minutes in Lisbon as Portugal continued their strong start in […]

Paris (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo marshalled Portugal past Switzerland in the Nations League on Sunday 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 […]

Madrid (AFP) – Spain were denied a winning start by Portugal in the Nations League on Thursday as Alvaro Morata’s first-half finish was cancelled out by a late equaliser from Ricardo Horta. Morata sidefooted home at the end of a scintillating counter-attack and while Cristiano Ronaldo came on in the second half for Portugal, it […]

Paris (AFP) – Portugal beat North Macedonia 2-0 and Poland saw off Sweden by the same score in play-off finals on Tuesday to book their places in the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar. Bruno Fernandes scored both goals for Portugal to overcome the Balkan nation that had knocked out European champions Italy in a […]

Porto (Portugal) (AFP) – Bruno Fernandes fired Portugal to the 2022 World Cup by scoring twice in a 2-0 victory over Italy’s conquerors North Macedonia on Tuesday. Italy’s shock exit had North Macedonia dreaming of their first ever appearance at a World Cup finals but Portugal and Fernandes proved a step too far in Porto. […]

Porto (Portugal) (AFP) – Portugal's World Cup play-off against North Macedonia on Tuesday is a "matter of life and death", said Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the game. Manchester United star Ronaldo is hoping to qualify for a fifth World Cup with Portugal and secure another chance to lift the trophy for the first time at […]

Paris (AFP) – Portugal have been well and truly warned not to take the threat of North Macedonia lightly as they face Italy's conquerors in a decisive World Cup qualifying play-off on Tuesday. The Balkan nation stunned Italy in their play-off semi-final in Palermo on Thursday, winning 1-0 thanks to an Aleksandar Trajkovski goal in […]

Porto (Portugal) (AFP) – Portugal are through to a decisive World Cup qualifying play-off final next week after beating Turkey 3-1 in Porto on Thursday, but only after Burak Yilmaz missed a crucial late penalty for the visitors. The home side were cruising at the Estadio do Dragao thanks to first-half goals by Brazilian-born midfielder […]

Paris (AFP) – The World Cup hopes of the last two European champions are on a knife edge with Portugal and Italy on a collision course in decisive qualifying play-offs over the next week. A potential clash in Porto between the Euro 2016 winners, captained by Cristiano Ronaldo, and an Italy team who succeeded them […]

Lisbon (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo's hopes of playing in a record-equalling fifth World Cup hang in the balance after Serbia stunned Portugal 2-1 in Lisbon to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. Spain and Croatia did secure their places in Qatar on Sunday thanks to 1-0 wins over Sweden and Russia respectively. Ronaldo already holds […]

London (AFP) – Spain took a huge step towards next year's World Cup in Qatar as a 1-0 win in Greece coupled with Sweden's shock 2-0 defeat to Georgia on Thursday put Luis Enrique's men in pole position to qualify. Pablo Sarabia's penalty proved enough for La Roja to take all three points in Athens […]

Baku (AFP) – Portugal eased to a 3-0 victory in a World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan on Tuesday that sent them top of Group A, but they are still short of automatic qualification. Serbia, who were joint top of the group before Portugal played, face the Republic of Ireland later Tuesday. The Portuguese did not […]

Athens (AFP) – Olympiakos centre-back Ruben Semedo was released on 10,000 euros ($11,860) bail on Thursday after the Portuguese international was accused of rape. The examining magistrate and the prosecutor agreed the 27-year-old, accused of the rape of a 17-year-old girl, could be released without any restrictive conditions, according to judicial officials. Semedo, who made […]

London (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo signalled his intention to keep playing for Portugal for "years to come" after breaking the all-time international goalscoring record of 109 previously held by Iran's Ali Daei. The Manchester United forward scored twice in the dying minutes to move to 111 international goals as Portugal came from behind to beat […]