DOHA: Bruno Fernandes said he thought Cristiano Ronaldo had scored Portugal’s opener in their 2-0 win over Uruguay on Monday even though he was credited with the goal.
The Manchester United midfielder’s cross toward Ronaldo flew straight in but the veteran striker was a whisker away from making contact with the ball.
Fernandes added the second from the penalty spot late on after Uruguay were penalized for handball and he was chosen as man of the match.
The win guaranteed Portugal’s progress to the last 16 in Qatar.
“I celebrated as if it had been Cristiano’s goal, it seemed to me that he had touched the ball, my aim was to cross the ball for him,” Fernandes said.
“What’s important is that we were able to go to the next round and (secure) a very important win against a very tough opponent.”
Fernandes warned that Portugal would have to be at their best in their final group match on Friday against South Korea, with a point enough to guarantee them top spot in Group H.
“We know we will find a very organized team in front of us with a huge skill-set, as we’ve seen in their last matches,” added Fernandes.
“We’ve played at different times and that has allowed us to watch South Korea play. Our objective is to win every match, and we have one ahead of us.”
Portugal coach Fernando Santos chose to praise the whole team instead of focusing on Fernandes.
“I think it’s the result of the team’s work,” said Santos. “If the team does not play well then the player himself will not have a good performance.
“I think in the first two games, the team has played well. Diogo Costa (the Portugal goalkeeper) saved two important shots, so I don’t think we should be focusing on individual players.”
Fernandes believed Ronaldo had scored first goal against Uruguay
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Fernandes believed Ronaldo had scored first goal against Uruguay
- “I celebrated as if it had been Cristiano’s goal, it seemed to me that he had touched the ball, my aim was to cross the ball for him,” Fernandes said
- Portugal coach Fernando Santos chose to praise the whole team instead of focusing on Fernandes
India to provide $450 million to cyclone-ravaged Sri Lanka
COLOMBO: India has committed $450 million in humanitarian assistance to help Sri Lanka recover from the devastating damage caused by Cyclone Ditwah, foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said Tuesday on a visit to the country.
The cyclone killed more than 640 people when it swept across the South Asian island last month, causing floods and landslides that inflicted about $4 billion in damage, according to the World Bank, or 4 percent of the country’s GDP.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has described the storm, which affected more than two million people, as the most challenging natural disaster in the island’s history.
Jaishankar, who is on a two-day visit, told a media briefing in Colombo he had handed a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Dissanayake, committing to a “reconstruction package of $450 million.”
While $350 million will take the form of “concessional lines of credit,” the remaining $100 million will be given as grants.
Jaishankar also noted the 1,100 tons of relief material, along with medicine and other necessary equipment, sent to India’s southern neighbor in the cyclone’s immediate aftermath.
“Given the scale of damage, restoring connectivity was clearly an immediate priority,” he said, detailing the Indian military’s assistance in providing portable bridges.
Jaishankar said India would also look at other ways to mitigate the losses, including encouraging Indian tourism to Sri Lanka.
“Similarly, an increase in foreign direct investment from India can boost your economy at a critical time,” he added.
The cyclone struck as Sri Lanka was emerging from its worst-ever economic meltdown in 2022, when it ran out of foreign exchange reserves to pay for essential imports such as food, fuel and medicines.
Following a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund approved in early 2023, the country’s economy has stabilized.
str-abh/cwl
