The 90th minute. This is supposed to be Cristiano Ronaldo’s zone, his particular time-frame for heroics. Witness the end of March in Belgrade, when he seemed to have pulled off the sort of late points-grab that has been a feature of his turbulent 2021.
That night, his Portugal had been hauled back in a World Cup qualifier by Serbia, from 2-0 up at half-time to 2-2. Into stoppage time, with 90 minutes on the clock, Ronaldo lifted an angled shot over the goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic and gave it just enough heft to cross an unguarded goalline.
The Serbian defender Stefan Mitrovic chased the effort, stretched out a leg and cleared the ball, but television pictures showed his rescue had failed by centimetres. Alas, there was no VAR nor goal-line technology in use in Belgrade. No goal was given. Ronaldo was livid, and stormed off the pitch.
Last Sunday night, he left the next chapter of Portugal versus Serbia in a similar mood. In Lisbon, in the last qualifying group game of qualification, Serbia had again come from behind, equalising an early Renato Sanches goal. Portugal needed only to draw to stay ahead of the Serbs at the top of the group and confirm their place at Qatar 2022. But there was to be a 90th minute winner. This time it was allowed to stand, the scorer deemed just onside when he headed in.
Aleksandar Mitrovic, Serbia’s all-time record marksman, had stolen the show, borrowed Ronaldo’s copyright on having the last word, and his goal could yet have devastating consequences for Ronaldo and arguably the most gifted cohort of Portuguese players in history. They are now obliged to take the arduous play-off route to reach the World Cup.
“Football has shown time and time again that it is sometimes the most tortuous paths that lead us to the outcomes we desire,” Ronaldo, the Portugal captain posted after the shock 2-1 defeat that leapfrogged Serbia towards Qatar.
Mitrovic might think his route to making the weekend’s headlines had been a little tortuous, too. He started the night on the substitutes bench, a bold decision by head coach Dragan Stojkovic given the must-win equation facing Serbia and Mitrovic’s record of 44 goals from 69 caps. He is also in breathtaking form: 20 goals for Fulham in 17 matches already this season, 10 of them from his last six outings.
But, at 27, Mitrovic is used to being told almost as much about what he cannot do as a centre-forward as about his virtues as a finisher. He gets questioned about his mobility, and labelled a ‘Championship specialist’ because of the disparity, across what is now an extended career in English football, between his effectiveness in the Premier League and the level beneath.
His club Fulham have been promoted twice and relegated twice in his three and half seasons there since joining from Newcastle, where he spent a season and a half in the Premier League either side of a year in the second tier.
All this yo-yoing between top flight and Championship has tuned him to the distinctions between the two levels, and Mitrovic can scarcely argue that his pugnacious, target-man style is not better suited to the Championship. He averages a goal every two hours of action across his 99 games in that division, a rate that is improving rapidly. In the Premier League, he has only once reached double-figures in a full campaign. He scored 11 goals there for relegated Fulham in 2018-19; last season, another relegation, he managed just three.
Just as Ronaldo, now in his 37th year, hears criticism that he does not do enough pressing and defending off the ball, Mitrovic has been scrutinised in the past for leaving himself isolated up front, against opponents who have more of the ball.
But his impact, for a team in command of possession, as Fulham tend to be in the Championship, is clear, and when he came on for Serbia on Sunday, they too were gradually seizing control against a Portugal whose head coach Fernando Santos acknowledged were “anxious”.
Nor were the Portuguese unaware of the specifics of the Mitrovic threat. In March in Belgrade, he launched the comeback from 2-0 down with a trademark header from a cross. Portugal’s fate would be sealed in the same way in Lisbon.
“It was tough, but not enough to sink us,” insisted Ronaldo, still confident he will make it to a fifth World Cup. “We know what we have to do to get there”. The play-offs mean more suspense - a semi- and then, if successful, a final - and extended drama. Late-career Ronaldo specialises in that.
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Virtual banks explained
What is a virtual bank?
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority defines it as a bank that delivers services through the internet or other electronic channels instead of physical branches. That means not only facilitating payments but accepting deposits and making loans, just like traditional ones. Other terms used interchangeably include digital or digital-only banks or neobanks. By contrast, so-called digital wallets or e-wallets such as Apple Pay, PayPal or Google Pay usually serve as intermediaries between a consumer’s traditional account or credit card and a merchant, usually via a smartphone or computer.
What’s the draw in Asia?
Hundreds of millions of people under-served by traditional institutions, for one thing. In China, India and elsewhere, digital wallets such as Alipay, WeChat Pay and Paytm have already become ubiquitous, offering millions of people an easy way to store and spend their money via mobile phone. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are also among the world’s biggest under-banked countries; together they have almost half a billion people.
Is Hong Kong short of banks?
No, but the city is among the most cash-reliant major economies, leaving room for newcomers to disrupt the entrenched industry. Ant Financial, an Alibaba Group Holding affiliate that runs Alipay and MYBank, and Tencent Holdings, the company behind WeBank and WeChat Pay, are among the owners of the eight ventures licensed to create virtual banks in Hong Kong, with operations expected to start as early as the end of the year.
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Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
MORE ON CORONAVIRUS & THE ECONOMY
more from Janine di Giovanni
Brief scores:
QPR 0
Watford 1
Capoue 45' 1
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
