Portugal triumph in Euro 2024 qualifying as Scotland stun Haaland’s Norway

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Portugal's midfielder Bruno Fernandes (L) fights for the ball with Bosnia's midfielder Amar Dedic during the UEFA Euro 2024 group J qualification football match between Portugal and Bosnia-Herzegovina at the Luz stadium in Lisbon on Saturday. (AFP)
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Scotland's John McGinn, left and Kenny McLean celebrate after Lyndon Dykes scored a goal, during the Euro 2024 group A qualifying soccer match between Norway and Scotland at Ullevaal Stadium in Olso Saturday. (AP)
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Updated 18 June 2023
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Portugal triumph in Euro 2024 qualifying as Scotland stun Haaland’s Norway

  • Portugal, who visit Iceland on Tuesday, are top of Group J with nine points out of a possible nine
  • Scotland snatched the winner with a minute left, McGinn and Dykes combining to set up Norwich City’s Kenny McLean to slot in

PARIS: Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Portugal won in Euro 2024 qualifying on Saturday after Scotland produced a stunning late comeback to beat Erling Haaland’s Norway in Oslo.

Portugal defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0 in Lisbon to make it three wins out of three in Group J, with Manchester City star Bernardo Silva opening the scoring a minute before halftime.

Fernandes headed in the second from a Ruben Neves cross in the 77th minute and scored his second, and Portugal’s third, in added time.

Cristiano Ronaldo wore the captain’s armband and played all 90 minutes as the 38-year-old men’s international appearance record-holder won his 199th cap.

However, the forward now playing for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia did not manage to add to his record 122 international goals — he found the net with a header midway through the first half only to be denied by an offside flag.

Portugal, who visit Iceland on Tuesday, are top of Group J with nine points out of a possible nine having scored 13 goals and conceded none.

They are two points clear of Slovakia, who beat Iceland 2-1 in Reykjavik with Tomas Suslov unwittingly scoring the winner 20 minutes from time after an Alfred Finnbogason penalty for the hosts canceled out Juraj Kucka’s opener.

Luxembourg beat Liechtenstein 2-0 in the same six-team group, from which the top two sides qualify for the finals in Germany.

Scotland have three wins out of three in Group A following a famous victory over Spain in March by coming from behind late on to beat Norway 2-1 on Saturday.

It looked as if Norway would get their first win of the campaign after Erling Haaland was fouled in the box on the hour mark by Ryan Porteous and converted the resulting penalty.

It was Haaland’s 22 goal in 24 games for Norway, and he was taken off six minutes from time by coach Stale Solbakken with the job seemingly done.

But then Scotland equalized in the 87th minute when Leo Ostigard failed to deal with a John McGinn pass, allowing Lyndon Dykes to stab home.

And Scotland were not finished as they snatched the winner with a minute left, McGinn and Dykes combining to set up Norwich City’s Kenny McLean to slot in, leaving Norway with just one point from three outings.

Scotland, who went 23 years without appearing at any major tournament before going to Euro 2020, are now in a fantastic position on top of Group A, five points clear of Georgia and six ahead of Nations League finalists Spain.

They have played a game more than both of those sides, however, and welcome Georgia to Glasgow on Tuesday.

“Sometimes when it’s your moment you just have to ride the wave. The boys believe in themselves and kept going,” said Scotland boss Steve Clarke.

Georgia, coached by ex-France international Willy Sagnol, won 2-1 in Cyprus with Zuriko Davitashvili scoring the decisive goal late on.

That was after Georges Mikautadze’s opener was canceled out by a penalty from Ioannis Pittas for Cyprus.

Belgium were held to a 1-1 draw by Austria in Brussels, with captain Romelu Lukaku turning and firing in from the edge of the box just after the hour mark for the hosts.

They had been trailing after Orel Mangala deflected a shot past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and into his own net.

“After the first goal we saw the heads go down, which is something we need to learn from because this team is young,” said Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco. “But in the end, I honestly saw good things as well.”

Eden Hazard, the former Belgium captain who quit international football after the World Cup, attended the match and did a lap of honor around the stadium at half-time.

Belgium are three points behind group leaders Austria but have a game in hand. They are back in action on Tuesday in Estonia, who drew 1-1 with Azerbaijan on Saturday.

In other action, the Czech Republic cemented their position at the top of Group E after a 3-0 win in the Faroe Islands in which Vaclav Cerny scored twice.


Kane hits brace as Bayern beat Bremen to move nine clear

Updated 08 February 2025
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Kane hits brace as Bayern beat Bremen to move nine clear

  • Kane was key in winning Bayern’s first penalty and breaking down Bremen’s stubborn resistance
  • Leroy Sane tapped in a Konrad Laimer cross from close range for Bayern’s second in the 82nd minute

MUNICH: Harry Kane scored two penalties as Bayern Munich beat Werder Bremen 3-0 on Friday to go nine points clear of Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
There were few chances in the first half but Kane signalled his intent 30 seconds after the break, rattling the crossbar with a shot from outside the box.
Kane was key in winning Bayern’s first penalty and breaking down Bremen’s stubborn resistance.
The England captain tussled with defender Anthony Young and headed a chipped cross against the Bremen man’s arm, which was slightly extended.
The England captain stepped up and converted the spot kick, sending goalkeeper Michael Zetterer the wrong way.
Leroy Sane tapped in a Konrad Laimer cross from close range for Bayern’s second in the 82nd minute.
In stoppage time, Young was again deemed guilty of a foul in the box, this time on Jamal Musiala.
Kane stepped up and converted, bringing his penalty streak to 29 in a row for club and country.
The former Spurs striker now has 21 goals in 19 league games for Bayern this season, including nine penalties.
Defending champions Leverkusen travel to Wolfsburg on Saturday and can cut Bayern’s lead back to six points with a win.
Bayern play away at Leverkusen next week in a match bookended by a two-legged Champions League knockout tie against Celtic.
Bremen fought hard but were undermanned, on and off the field.
Coach Ole Werner along with defenders Niklas Stark and Marco Friedl were all missing due to red cards in the 1-0 home win against in-form Mainz last time out, while attackers Leonardo Bittencourt and Romano Schmid were sidelined with muscle strains.
Despite the loss, Bremen sit eighth, one point behind the European placings, as they bid for a return to continental competition for the first time since 2010-11.


Duran, Ronaldo star as Al-Nassr win again

Updated 07 February 2025
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Duran, Ronaldo star as Al-Nassr win again

  • Duran scores twice, Ronaldo adds third
  • Al-Nassr back in third place in table after victory

RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo and Jhon Duran were on target on Friday as Al-Nassr beat Al-Fayha 3-0 to go back into third place in the Saudi Pro League.
Duran, who signed from Aston Villa from the English Premier League at the end of the January transfer window, put the Yellows ahead midway through the first half. The Colombian, who picked up possession just outside the area, turned inside and then shot home into the bottom corner to score his first goal in his first SPL game.


It was a great start but the Yellows had to wait until the 72nd minute to extend their lead. Duran got his, and the team’s, second as he lifted the ball over the goalkeeper from the edge of the six-yard box.
It sealed the win for the hosts, but there was still time for another goal, and two minutes later it was 3-0. Nawaf Boushal ran down the right and then pulled the ball back into the area for Ronaldo to sweep home from just inside the box. It was the 16th league goal of the season for the Portuguese star, who stays on top of the scoring rankings. It also secured another win for Al-Nassr, their fourth in succession.
“It was a good match and we played well against a solid opponent who did not make it easy for us,” said Al-Nassr’s coach Stefano Pioli. “We were patient and, at the end, we got what we wanted.”
The win means that Al-Nassr are in third place, five points behind Al-Hilal in second and eight behind leaders Al-Ittihad.
Earlier, Al-Ahli beat Al-Fateh 2-0 with both goals coming from England striker Ivan Toney from the penalty spot.


Man City hope for Rodri return this season by listing Ballon d’Or winner in Champions League squad

Updated 07 February 2025
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Man City hope for Rodri return this season by listing Ballon d’Or winner in Champions League squad

  • Rodri has set a target of about April to return to play
  • The Champions League quarterfinals start April 8

MANCHESTER: Manchester City showed faith in Rodri potentially returning to action this season by registering the injured Ballon d’Or winner on Friday in their Champions League squad for the knockout phase.
UEFA set a midnight Thursday deadline to submit updated squad lists for European competitions. With a limit of three new signings in the midseason transfer window allowed, City left out teenage defender Vitor Reis who joined from Palmeiras last month.


Rodri has set a target of about April – “six to seven months” after tearing the ACL in his right knee against Arsenal on Sept. 22 – to return to play. The Champions League quarterfinals start April 8.
The English champion have a daunting task to stay in the competition until then without star midfielder Rodri, who scored the winning goal in the 2023 final against Inter Milan.
Man City face Real Madrid in a two-leg knockout playoff, next Tuesday and on Feb. 19. The winner will play either Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16.
New signings who are included in coach Pep Guardiola’s squad for the Champions League are midfielder Nico Gonzalez — who can stand in for Rodri — forward Omar Marmoush, and defender Abdukodir Khusanov.


Celtic avoid fan ban for Bayern Champions League tie

Updated 07 February 2025
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Celtic avoid fan ban for Bayern Champions League tie

  • Celtic had received a suspended one-match ban on selling tickets for traveling fans
  • “We are pleased that UEFA has considered our detailed submission,” Celtic said

GLASGOW: Celtic fans will be able to attend the second leg of their Champions League play-off round tie away to Bayern Munich after being handed a UEFA reprieve.
The Scottish champions feared supporters would be banned after a green smoke bomb was thrown onto the pitch from visiting fans during Celtic’s 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa last month.
Celtic had received a suspended one-match ban on selling tickets for traveling fans after a pyrotechnic display in their 7-1 Champions League thrashing by Borussia Dortmund in September.
However, they have escaped with a fine of 10,000 euros ($10,400, £8,340) for the lighting of fireworks and throwing of objects.
“As we had said previously, Celtic made every effort to ensure that our fans could attend this match, and we are pleased that UEFA has considered our detailed submission,” Celtic said in a statement.
“We can also confirm that the original suspended sentence remains in place, as a result of the previous use of pyrotechnics, most recently at the match against Borussia Dortmund, by a small minority of supporters.
“Again we must make it very clear that pyrotechnics have absolutely no place at our matches and should further incidents occur, then clearly, once again, there is an extremely high risk of our supporters not being permitted access to future matches.”


Amorim reveals the reasons why things didn't work out with Rashford at Man United

Updated 07 February 2025
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Amorim reveals the reasons why things didn't work out with Rashford at Man United

MANCHESTER: Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim let Marcus Rashford leave the club because he couldn't convince the forward to follow his methods.
“I couldn’t put Marcus to see the way you’re supposed to play football and to train the way I see it,” Amorim said in quotes published late Thursday.
The 27-year-old Rashford joined Aston Villa on loan the day before Europe's winter transfer window closed, having not played for United since mid-December. He could make his debut for Villa on Sunday on an FA Cup match against Tottenham.
“Sometimes you have one player that is really good with one coach, and the same player with another coach is different,” Amorim said.
“I just wish the best to Rashford and to (Villa manager) Unai Emery, and they can connect because he’s a very good player.”
Asked whether Rashford said that he did not agree with Amorim’s ideas about soccer, Amorim said: “You know, like me, that it’s not the way that occurs.
“It’s something that you feel as a coach and as a player. It’s quite normal. It happened with a lot of coaches. The important thing is that I’m here saying that was my decision."
Amorim brushed aside talk of a potential return for Rashford at the end of the season.
Rashford's deal with Villa includes an option to make the move permanent for a reported 40 million pounds ($50 million).
"Like we said before, we are fighting for our jobs until the summer,” Amorim said.
“So, I am just focused on these games. Thankfully about Marcus, he is in Birmingham now with Unai, so you can take these questions to another coach. We are just focused on our players at the moment.”