Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday threw his captain’s armband to the ground in anger after being controversially denied an injury-time winner as Portugal blew a two-goal lead against Serbia in World Cup qualifying, while Romelu Lukaku’s 59th international goal salvaged Belgium a 1-1 draw with the Czech Republic.
The Netherlands saw off Latvia 2-0 after their opening Group G defeat by Turkey, who backed up that performance with an impressive 3-0 victory over Norway.
Portugal drew 2-2 in Belgrade, despite Ronaldo believing he had scored the winner in the third minute of stoppage time when the ball appeared to cross the goal-line before Stefan Mitrovic cleared.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Without technology in use, the goal was not awarded and a fuming Ronaldo was then booked for his protests.
At the final whistle he stormed from the pitch, throwing his captain’s armband to the ground.
“I always give and will give everything for my country, that will never change,” Ronaldo later posted on his Instagram page. “But there are difficult times to deal with, especially when we feel that an entire nation is being harmed.”
Portugal coach Fernando Santos said that “it isn’t possible” that what he saw as a clear goal could be ruled out.
“We scored a goal that was not given when the ball went in. In a match of this level, that isn’t possible,” he told broadcaster RTP.
Portugal had appeared to be cruising to three points in Belgrade when 2-0 up through Liverpool striker Diogo Jota’s first-half double.
Nemanja Radonjic’s half-time introduction proved crucial for Serbia as he set up Aleksandar Mitrovic and Filip Kostic to net in the first 15 minutes of the second period.
Belgium, the world No. 1-ranked side, sit behind the Czech Republic on goal difference in the early Group E standings.
Lukas Provod put the Czechs ahead shortly after half-time in Prague with a magnificent long-range strike, his first international goal.
Ten minutes later, Lukaku collected Kevin De Bruyne’s pass, turned his marker and drilled the ball under goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik for his 19th goal in his past 16 games for Belgium.
In the other Group A game, Luxembourg pulled off a shock 1-0 win over a lackluster Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
Ireland were toothless in attack and the visitors made them pay in the 85th minute with Dynamo Kiev forward Gerson Rodrigues’s winner.
It was only Luxembourg’s sixth victory in World Cup qualifying since their first involvement in 1934.
Frank de Boer’s Netherlands gave the 5,000 fans allowed into the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam something to cheer as Steven Berghuis’s 32nd-minute curling effort and Luuk de Jong’s second-half header saw off Latvia.
“We know that goal difference will be important in these qualifiers,” said De Boer, who also saw De Jong and Davy Klaassen hit the woodwork in the first World Cup qualifier to be refereed by a woman — France’s Stephanie Frappart.
The Netherlands players followed Norway and Germany by protesting in support of human rights in Qatar, which is hosting the World Cup finals next year.
Fenerbahce midfielder Ozan Tufan scored twice as Turkey beat a dangerous Norway side.
Leicester centerback Caglar Soyuncu also enjoyed a fine performance as he netted the second goal and helped keep Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Braut Haaland quiet.
Russia, World Cup quarter-finalists on home soil three years ago, moved top of the early Group H table with a 2-1 victory over Slovenia, who had started their campaign by beating 2018 runners-up Croatia.
Croatia struggled to find their best form again, but Mario Pasalic’s header five minutes before the break helped Zlatko Dalic’s men edge out Cyprus 1-0 in Rijeka.
Slovakia are already struggling in their bid to qualify, after being held to a 2-2 home draw by minnows Malta.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and