Portugal 2 Poland 1
POR: Sanches 33’
POL: Lewandowski 2’
Pens: POR – Ronaldo, Sanches, Moutinho, Nani, Quaresma; POL – Lewandowski, Milik, Glik, Blaszczykowski (X)
Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal battled their way to a place in the Euro 2016 last four on Thursday winning a penalty shootout 5-3 against Poland in a tense quarter-final.
Robert Lewandowski scored his first goal of Euro 2016 inside two minutes in the Marseille clash before his new Bayern Munich teammate, teenager Renato Sanches, equalised with a powerfully driven shot. The game then went through extra-time deadlocked at 1-1.
Goalkeeper Rui Patricio and Ricardo Quaresma were Portugal’s heroes in the shootout.
Ronaldo was among the players fist-pumping when Patricio dived to his left to save Jakub Blaszczykowski’s tame fourth shot for the Poles, who had reached the quarter-finals for the first time.
Quaresma, the former Al Ahli man, was next up for Portugal and made no mistake firing high into the net to beat Poland goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
Wales v Belgium previews
• Ian Hawkey: Axel Witsel, divisive and yet indispensable against Wales
• Richard Jolly: Gareth Bale and Wales can boast of being Britain's best
“It hurts and it will hurt for a long time,” Lewandowski said as Ronaldo celebrated his new step toward winning a first major international trophy with Portugal.
Poland made a blistering start to the game. After barely 100 seconds, Kamil Grosicki hurried past Southampton right back Cedric Soares to deliver a great cross that Lewandowski drove past a flailing Rui Patricio at his near post.
The Polish striker’s first goal of the competition, after hitting a record 13 in qualifying, stunned Portugal.
The early goal gave Poland momentum, and a defiant but borderline interception by Grzegorz Krychowiak on Sanches set Arkadiusz Milik up for a 25-yard drive that sailed wide on the quarter hour.
Ronaldo hit the defensive wall with one free kick and Fabianski had no trouble with Ronaldo's 18-yard drive from a Nani cross. German referee Felix Brych waved away Ronaldo's claims for a penalty on 31 minutes despite replays suggesting the Real Madrid star was bundled over by centre-back Michal Pazdan as he went to meet a cross.
Sanches made amends for Portugal less than two minutes later with a stunning leveller on his first start at Euro 2016.
The 18-year-old midfielder collected Nani’s cutback from the right side of the area and hit a fierce shot that deflected off Krychowiak and beat Fabianski at his near post.
Sanches’ new employers Bayern Munich will be pleased having seen two players score on the night.
Poland’s slick passing game, however, was impressive throughout.
Kamil Glik’s long ball found Grosicki in space to fire in a great cross at the back post that forced Patricio into action as Lewandowski hovered.
And it took a timely intervention from Jose Fonte just after the restart to stop Lukasz Piszcek’s cutback reaching Lewandowski, who got his head to a cross moments later that Patricio gratefully collected.
Portugal were not finished, but Ronaldo’s normally deadly finishing was amiss.
He skewed a great chance into the side-netting from Nani’s superb ball in behind the defence.
On the hour, Ronaldo completely miskicked a shot after an exchange between Joao Mario and Nani, the ball falling for Adrien Silva to drive the ball off Krychowiak.
Cedric’s 30-yard drive had Fabianski diving dramatically to his right as the ball sailed a foot past his far post.
Poland created two chances in two minutes, Patricio notably forced down low to thwart Milik’s mid-air effort after a cross from Artur Jedrzejczyk.
But they breathed a sigh of relied when Jedrzejczyk’s interception on Mario’s through ball for Ronaldo crept past the far post with Fabianski rooted to the spot.
Portugal should have hit the winner on 85 minutes, but after sneaking behind Pazdan to meet a ball over the top from late substitute Joao Moutinho, Ronaldo’s left foot failed to connect with what looked like a simple chance.
Extra time was notable more for the pitch invader who tried to reach Ronaldo than for real scoring chances. Fourteen security personnel carried the Ronaldo fans off after he was caught.
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Bharatanatyam
A ancient classical dance from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Intricate footwork and expressions are used to denote spiritual stories and ideas.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper
Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
Power: 136hp @ 4,500rpm (Cooper) / 192hp @ 5,000rpm (Cooper S)
Torque: 220Nm @ 1,480rpm (Cooper) / 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (Cooper S)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 4.8L to 5.4L / 100km
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The%20Super%20Mario%20Bros%20Movie
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Aaron%20Horvath%20and%20Michael%20Jelenic%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Chris%20Pratt%2C%20Anya%20Taylor-Joy%2C%20Charlie%20Day%2C%20Jack%20Black%2C%20Seth%20Rogen%20and%20Keegan-Michael%20Key%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
