Cristiano Ronaldo slammed minnows Iceland for proverbially 'parking the bus' in front of their goal.
Coach Fernando Santos blamed a lack of pace and a failure to stay calm in the frantic final minutes for Portugal's inability to beat rank outsiders Iceland in their Euro 2016 opener on Tuesday.
Gabor Kiraly became the oldest man to play in the European Championship when he helped Hungary to a 2-0 victory over Austria on Tuesday, leaving coach Bernd Storck to declare he was still among the world's best.
China's official media on Tuesday went public over India's Nuclear Suppliers Group bid for the first time, saying New Delhi's membership of the elite club will not only touch a "raw nerve" in Pakistan and increase a nuclear arms race in the region but also "jeopardise" China's national interests.
Coach Bernd Storck says Hungary want to prove their first European Championship appearance in 44 years is no fluke when the former powerhouses meet neighbours Austria in their Group F opener on Tuesday.
Austrian Dominic Thiem became the first player to capture titles on three different surfaces this year when he finished off Philipp Kohlschreiber to win the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart on Monday.
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo and defender Pepe could land roles in Hollywood because of their playacting, Iceland coach Lars Lagerback has said ahead their European Championship Group F clash in St Etienne on Tuesday.
Croatia captain Darijo Srna still feels the pain of losing on penalties to Turkey at the 2008 European Championship, but refused to talk of revenge ahead of another meeting between the teams at Euro 2016 on Sunday. Croatia exorcised some of their demons by beating Turkey 3-0 on aggregate in a playoff to reach Euro 2012. But Sunday will be the first time the sides have met at a major tournament since that quarter-final in Vienna eight years ago when Semih Senturk's 122nd-minute strike cancelled out Ivan Klasnic's opener three minutes earlier to send the tie to penalties.
Reports from Vienna said that China was leading the opposition to India's membership. Turkey, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa and Austria are said to be backing the Chinese stand.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has urged his team mates not to get carried away by the 7-0 romp over Estonia ahead of their campaign at the Euro 2016. The 31-year-old forward, warming up for his side's Group F opener against Iceland on Tuesday in Saint-Etienne, made his first appearance with Portugal this summer in Lisbon on Wednesday night. "It was just a friendly and even though we won 7-0, it doesn't mean anything," Ronaldo was quoted
Penpix of the top men's contenders at the 2017 French Open:
Cristiano Ronaldo is in top condition and showing more resolve than ever to lead Portugal to the European title, national team coach Fernando Santos said ahead of their final Euro 2016 warm-up match on Wednesday.
Portugal star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo's presence makes the team a potential target for terror attacks during Euro 2016, said coach Fernando Santos.
England defender Chris Smalling headed the only goal with five minutes left as they beat 10-man Portugal 1-0 in a turgid Euro 2016 warm-up match at Wembley in London, on Thursday.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque is delighted with his side's preparations for the European Championships but was not ready to claim they were short odds to register a third successive triumph at the tournament hosted by France.
European Champions Spain produced a dominant display to thrash South Korea 6-1 in Salzburg, Austria on Wednesday in their penultimate friendly before Euro 2016.
Any sliver of a doubt over whether Cristiano Ronaldo would lead Portugal into the Euro 2016 was erased on Tuesday when he was named in their 23-man squad for the finals.
Arsenal right back Hector Bellerin will be in Spain's Euro 2016 squad, the country's football federation said on Tuesday. The 21-year-old Bellerin and the other 18 players named to face South Korea in a friendly in Wals-Siezenheim, Austria on Wednesday, have been guaranteed spots in the European Championship squad. Bellerin was included after Real Madrid right back Dani Carvajal sustained a leg muscle injury in Saturday's Champions League final victory over Atletico Madrid. The Real Madrid and Atletico players in the squad will be named later on Tuesday when Spain coach Vicente del Bosque announces his final list.
A Spanish left-hander moved into the quarter-finals of the French Open on Sunday. No surprise there, although his name was not Rafael Nadal but Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
Star India shuttlers P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth notched up comfortable victories but it was young Mumbai player Harsheel Dani who hogged the limelight at the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold when he stunned H S Prannoy in straight games to storm into the quarter-finals in Lucknow on Thursday.
Former world number one Heena Sidhu missed out on qualifying for the final of women's 10-metre air pistol event by just one point on the concluding day of the ISSF World Cup in Munich on Wednesday. At the Olympic Shooting Centre, Heena finished 12th out of 104 shooters in the eventual standings but would have been pleased at having shot a higher score than 384 ahead of the all-important Rio Olympics. The eighth finalist from Serbia, who eventually won the gold, made it through with a score of 385 and had less inner 10s than Heena. Shweta Singh and Shri Nivetha Paramanantham, the other Indians in the event shot 378 and 377 to finish 47th and 52nd respectively. Serbia's Bobana Velickovic won the gold in the event, while Sonia Franquet of Spain bagged the silver and China's Mengxue Zhang won the bronze medal.
Netherlands international Daley Blind believes sacked Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal deserved more respect, better treatment.
Ashwani Kumar, in a lecture at the prestigious Trinity College, Dublin, said the recent incident of "oppressive enforcement" of the colonial law of sedition against students protesting in university campuses has raised several questions about the future of India's liberal democracy.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Only three active players -- Novak Djokovic (1080), Nadal (804) and Roger Federer (742) -- have more singles victories than him in world tennis. All this means that David Ferrer has won the most number of matches on the ATP Tour without a Grand Slam title.
India rallied after a shaky start to beat Austria 7-3 and post their second successive victory in the Olympic hockey qualifier in Santiago, Chile. Rocked by a second minute goal, India bounced back in a splendid fashion as Dilip Tirkey (9th, 23rd minutes), Shivendra Singh (51st, 55th), Ignace Tirkey (42nd), Bharat Chhikara (53rd) and Rajpal Singh (53rd) struck telling blows.
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