After slotting the penalty which broke the deadlock and sparked the game into life, he might have been forgiven for acting like he had just found the last Coca-Cola in the desert.
It was all about him. When is it ever not? And yet, after achieving something unique, making history, and apparently paving the way to victory against a stubborn opposition, he was one of the boys again.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s 65th minute strike set Portugal on the way to a 3-2 win over Ghana at the World Cup in Doha. He had won the spot-kick himself, after he was felled – if slightly tamely - by Mohammed Salisu.
His celebration did bear most of the trademarks. He ran to the corner, leapt high in the air, and was ready to unleash his arms at his side.
And yet there was no “siuu”. Not from him, at least, even if the majority of the crowd in the Stadium 974 bellowed exactly that. Instead, he cracked a smile, and looked straight for his mates.
They were already there surrounding him, the substitutes massed by the corner flag, ready to mob the first man to score in five World Cups.
Still, there was a job to do. Initially, they made heavy weather of it, passing up an equaliser five minutes later to Andre Ayew, Ronaldo’s opposite number as Ghana captain.
For all their endeavour, though, Ghana are the lowest ranked side in the tournament for a reason, and the Portuguese just about managed to bring their class to bear.
First, Joao Felix reasserted their advantage with a clever lifted finish. Then Rafael Leao gave them a two-goal buffer two minutes later.
Ghana refused to bow, and Osman Bukari set Portuguese nerves racing when he dragged a goal back with a minute remaining in normal time.
Ronaldo, who had just had his own personal curtain call after being substituted, was livid that the door had been left ajar for the Ghanaians. By the end, though, he could be satisfied with a job just about well done.
Even if he was not on the field when victory was finally sealed, it had been Ronaldo’s occasion.
The crowd were gripped by anticipation whenever he went near the ball. The first time he did, 90 seconds in, it was greeted by a cacophonous roar. Not that it was anything to celebrate: he miss-controlled, then made a foul.
In the 10th minute, he was lax again. He found space in the heart of the Ghana defence, but his first touch got away from him and permitted goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi to stub out the threat.
Shortly after, he erred for a third time. Admittedly, few other players in the game would have been able to soar in the fashion he did at the far post to meet a high cross. Once there, though, he failed to get any significant purchase on the header, and the ball drifted harmlessly wide.
Just after the half-hour mark, he did have the ball in Ati-Zigi’s goal, but it had already been ruled out as he was adjudged to have fouled Alexander Djiku, the Ghana defender.
The sense that nothing was going quite right for the fixture’s dominant figure was summed up just before half-time when he got in the way of his teammate Raphael Guerreiro’s volleyed shot from the left. The ball became tangled in Ronaldo’s legs, and his effort to move in on was uncharacteristically ungainly.
With his first chance after the break, he was easily marshalled again by Ghana’s defence. As they broke away, the African side enjoyed their brightest moment of the game till that point, as Mohammed Kudus flashed a shot from distance just wide.
The game was getting increasingly feisty. Alidu Seidu was lucky to escape a red card after going head to head with Felix.
All that occurred before goal had even been scored. Then Ronaldo addressed that issue by opening the floodgates. Within 25 minutes at the end of the game, five flew in.
What mattered to Ronaldo and Portugal in the final count up, though, was that the three points were theirs.
The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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The five pillars of Islam
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Zayed Sustainability Prize
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
More on Quran memorisation:
Scoreline
Syria 1-1 Australia
Syria Al Somah 85'
Australia Kruse 40'
FIXTURES (all times UAE)
Sunday
Brescia v Lazio (3.30pm)
SPAL v Verona (6pm)
Genoa v Sassuolo (9pm)
AS Roma v Torino (11.45pm)
Monday
Bologna v Fiorentina (3.30pm)
AC Milan v Sampdoria (6pm)
Juventus v Cagliari (6pm)
Atalanta v Parma (6pm)
Lecce v Udinese (9pm)
Napoli v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O’Reilly
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%3Cp%3EMannofield%2C%20Aberdeen%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EAll%20matches%20start%20at%202pm%20UAE%20time%20and%20will%20be%20broadcast%20on%20icc.tv%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20fixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EWednesday%2C%20Aug%2010%20%E2%80%93%20Scotland%20v%20UAE%3Cbr%3EThursday%2C%20Aug%2011%20-%20UAE%20v%20United%20States%3Cbr%3ESaturday%2C%20Aug%2014%20%E2%80%93%20Scotland%20v%20UAE%3Cbr%3EMonday%2C%20Aug%2015%20%E2%80%93%20UAE%20v%20United%20States%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20squad%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EAhmed%20Raza%20(captain)%2C%20Chirag%20Suri%2C%20Muhammad%20Waseem%2C%20Vriitya%20Aravind%2C%20CP%20Rizwan%2C%20Basil%20Hameed%2C%20Rohan%20Mustafa%2C%20Zawar%20Farid%2C%20Kashif%20Daud%2C%20Karthik%20Meiyappan%2C%20Zahoor%20Khan%2C%20Junaid%20Siddique%2C%20Sabir%20Ali%2C%20Alishan%20Sharafu%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETable%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20(top%20three%20teams%20advance%20directly%20to%20the%202023%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier)%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E1.%20Oman%2036%2021%2013%201%201%2044%3Cbr%3E2.%20Scotland%2024%2016%206%200%202%2034%3Cbr%3E3.%20UAE%2022%2012%208%201%201%2026%3Cbr%3E--%3Cbr%3E4.%20Namibia%2018%209%209%200%200%2018%3Cbr%3E5.%20United%20States%2024%2011%2012%201%200%2023%3Cbr%3E6.%20Nepal%2020%208%2011%201%200%2017%3Cbr%3E7.%20Papua%20New%20Guinea%2020%201%2019%200%200%202%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Lewis Hamilton in 2018
Australia 2nd; Bahrain 3rd; China 4th; Azerbaijan 1st; Spain 1st; Monaco 3rd; Canada 5th; France 1st; Austria DNF; Britain 2nd; Germany 1st; Hungary 1st; Belgium 2nd; Italy 1st; Singapore 1st; Russia 1st; Japan 1st; United States 3rd; Mexico 4th
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Avatar%20(2009)
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MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
