ZURICH: 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 to devastating effect as time ran out.
First, he pulled his team level with a header from a Ricardo Quaresma cross, before adding the winner in almost identical circumstances in the fourth minute of injury time.
However, the 33-year-old Real Madrid star had to wait for the VAR system to validate his goal after a suspicion of offside. His two-goal salvo took his Portugal tally to 81.
Earlier, Salah, who has shone at Liverpool this season with 28 Premier League goals, broke the deadlock in Zurich after 56 minutes.
After a quickfire exchange of passes, Abdallah El Said found Salah in space for his teammate to beat Beto in the Portuguese goal with a sweetly-timed left-foot strike from the edge of the area.
"In the last minutes we were better, created four chances and showed great determination to turn it around. They showed that they did not want to lose," said Portugal coach Fernando Santos.
"And with Ronaldo, it's about a goal and another goal."
Ronaldo had two first-half chances blocked as he tried to continue his impressive recent form which had seen him score 18 goals in his last nine La Liga games, including registering a 50th hat-trick.
Salah was replaced late in the game by Shikabala and Portugal sensed a chance to grab a share of the spoils.
Quaresma, meanwhile, saw a 72nd minute attempt saved by Mohamed El-Shenawy in the Egypt goal while Bruno Alves saw a close-range header from a corner drift wide of the goal.
Shikabala had a fierce shot saved by Beto diving high to his right before Alves's frustrations boiled over late in the game with a yellow card.
But with time running out, Ronaldo had the final say as the five-time Ballon d'Or winner moved into third place on the all-time list of international goal scorers.
Legendary Hungarian striker Ferenc Puskas scored 84 goals while Iran's Ali Daei leads the list with 109 goals in 149 internationals.
Egypt, back at a World Cup for the first time since 1990, will play in Group A at the finals this summer with hosts Russia, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.
Portugal are in Group B and will face Spain, Morocco and Iran.
Cristiano Ronaldo's last-gasp two-goal show steals Mohamed Salah limelight
Cristiano Ronaldo's last-gasp two-goal show steals Mohamed Salah limelight
Muchova beats Mboko in Qatar final to end title drought
- Her title run in Doha will lift her from 19 to 11 in the world rankings
DOHA: Karolina Muchova captured her first WTA 1000 crown and her first title since 2019 with an impressive 6-4, 7-5 victory over Canadian teen sensation Victoria Mboko in the Qatar Open final on Saturday.
After battling back from a set and a break down in the semifinals against Maria Sakkari the previous night, Muchova, 29, was in fierce form against Mboko to clinch the biggest title of her career.
“It’s been a while since I won a tournament, so it’s nice to get that feeling again, to be reminded of that victory feeling again,” said Muchova during the trophy ceremony.
“I’d like to congratulate Victoria; you’re still a teenager but you play with so much maturity. I’m sure you have many titles ahead of you.”
A former French Open finalist, Muchova’s career has been hampered by injuries but she has started 2026 in fine fashion, amassing a 12-2 win-loss record over the past six weeks.
Her title run in Doha will lift her from 19 to 11 in the world rankings, while Mboko guaranteed herself a top-10 debut on Monday by making the final.
Muchova put together a clean opening set, landing an impressive 75 percent of her first serves, and dropping just three points behind that first delivery.
The Czech faced zero break points across the 43-minute set and showcased her prowess at the net to take a solid step toward the title.
Mboko made adjustments on return in the second set, and managed to decode her opponent’s serve to carve a 4-2 gap but her advantage was short-lived as Muchova broke twice and wrapped up the contest in 94 minutes.
The 19-year-old Mboko has the most match wins on the women’s tour this season with 13 to just three defeats. She will rise to No. 10 in the world on Monday.
“It’s not the outcome I wanted but I think there’s many positives to take away,” said Mboko, who was competing in her fourth WTA final, and second at the 1000 level.
