CRICKET | Page 10 AATHLETICSTHLETICS | Page 11 Jadhav fi ft y Russian star gives India Isinbayeva To Advertise here series win vs eyes Olympic Call: 444 11 300, 444 66 621 Zimbabwe swansong Thursday, June 23, 2016 FOOTBALL Ramadan 18, 1437 AH Messi eyes Copa GULF TIMES America crown aft er goalscoring milestone SPORT Page 5 HUNGARY 3 PORTUGAL 3 Ronaldo on target as Portugal and Hungary go through ‘We’re happy as we’re still in the tournament. It was a tough game but we created chances and scored goals’ Reuters gary looked more likely to score through Lyon, France sporadic but dangerous raids. In the 19th minute, the 37-year old Gera took a half-cleared corner into ungary and Portugal reached his stride and unleashed a fizzing the Euro 2016 knockout stag- low-half volley past Rui Patricio from es after a rip-roaring 3-3 draw 25 metres. in which Cristiano Ronaldo Rocked by the setback, Portugal Hnetted twice and became the fi rst play- nearly fell two goals behind several er to score at four European Champion- minutes later after Patricio was forced ship fi nals yesterday. to parry a stinging shot by the hard- The Portuguese came from behind working Akos Elek. three times as Ronaldo, who also set a However, Ronaldo, struggling for tournament record of 17 appearances, form at Euro 2016, released Nani with fi nally rediscovered his touch to help a defence-splitting pass and his strike Portugal make the last 16, where they partner beat Gabor Kiraly with a neat will meet Croatia in Lens on Saturday. fi nish from inside the penalty area three Group F winners Hungary fi nished minutes before the break. above Iceland, who also qualifi ed after a The Hungarians were back in front last-gasp 2-1 win over Austria in Paris, in the 47th minute as Dzsudzsak beat and third-placed Portugal. Patricio with a free kick. Hungary will play the Group E run- After throwing a reporter’s micro- ners-up, which was to be decided later phone into a lake earlier in the day during yesterday between Belgium, Sweden a morning walkabout, Ronaldo produced and Ireland, while Iceland will face his best moment of the tournament in the England. 50th, beating Kiraly with a clever back- Ronaldo equalised twice in the sec- heel after good work by Nani. ond half after Zoltan Gera’s early strike Hungary took the lead for the third was cancelled out by Nani just before time. the break. Hungary captain Balazs Having had another free kick blocked Dzsudzsak had twice put his side ahead by the wall, Dzsudsak took the rebound before Ronaldo burst into life with a in his stride on the edge of the area and double strike. fi red a speculative shot which sailed “We’re happy as we’re still in the past Patricio. tournament. It was a tough game but Hungary’s joy was short-lived, how- we created chances and scored goals,” ever, as Ronaldo levelled with a thump- said Portugal coach Fernando Santos. ing header after a superb cross by sub- Portugal had promised the goals stitute Ricardo Quaresma, drawing an would fl ow and they did. eruption of joy from the Portuguese Like in their previous two matches fans behind Kiraly’s goal. against Iceland and Austria, Portugal enjoyed sterile possession in the early Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (second stages and rarely troubled their rivals from left) prepares to head the ball for with a fl urry of crosses easily dealt with his team’s third goal during their Euro by the Hungarian defence. 2016 Group F match against Hungary in With Ronaldo totally subdued, Hun- Lyon, France, yesterday. (Reuters) ICELAND 2 AUSTRIA 1 Iceland extend heroic run with last-gasp win Reuters land goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson Paris with a low shot. The Austrians had missed a great chance to equalise in the fi rst half when celand continued their fairytale they were awarded a penalty after Dav- story at Euro 2016 by making it id Alaba appeared to be held back in the through to knockout stage after a box by left back Ari Skulason. stoppage-time winner gave them a Aleksandar Dragovic sank to his Ideserved 2-1 victory against Austria in knees in despair after hitting the post their fi nal group match yesterday. from the spot, allowing Iceland to hold Substitute Arnor Ingvi Trausta- on to their lead until the break. son scored from close range deep into Austria, who went into their fi nal added time after collecting a though group game after a defeat by Hungary ball from Elmar Bjarnasson following a and a draw with Portugal, were hoping swift counter-attack. to survive the opening stage of a major The last-gasp goal secured Iceland tournament for the fi rst time since the second place in Group F, level on fi ve 1982 World Cup but it was not to be. points with Hungary, who drew 3-3 with They again lacked fi repower and Portugal in an action-packed encounter, their key player, Alaba, who is used to a played at the same time in Lyon. more defensive role, looked lost in the The Hungarians edged top spot by playmaker position, which he occupied virtue of a better goal diff erence. Por- throughout the tournament. tugal fi nished on three points and will Iceland, by contrast, off ered a spir- go through as one of the best third- ited display and took their chances placed teams. bravely. Austria, who had come to France as With a population of about 330,000, dark horses after a qualifying campaign which is roughly the size of English city featuring nine wins from 10 games, fi n- Leicester, home to the newly-crowned ish last and will go home with just one Premier League champions, Iceland point after a 2-0 defeat by Hungary and were cheered on by a strong contingent a 0-0 draw with Portugal. of noisy fans wearing the side’s blue The smallest country ever to qualify colours. for a European Championship, Iceland The Iceland supporters were clearly had started the tournament by hold- outnumbered by the red army of Aus- ing Portugal and Hungary to 1-1 draws trian fans but most of the noise came through resilient displays and will now Iceland’s Arnor Ingvi Traustason (left) scores past Austria’s goalkeeper Robert Almer during their Euro 2016 Group F match in Saint-Denis, near Paris, yesterday. (AFP) from those in blue, who will always re- face England in the last 16. member the night when they witnessed They stated well on a stormy night on Dadi Bodvarsson putting them ahead box following a long throw-in from the Austria, needing a win to survive the when substitute Alessandro Schoepf arguably the most remarkable feat in the outskirts of Paris with forward Jon with an angled shot from inside the right on 18 minutes. group, levelled the tie on the hour mark raced into the box and surprised Ice- their country’s sporting history. Gulf Times 2 Thursday, June 23, 2016 EURO 2016 SPOTLIGHT FA unsettled by Hodgson’s risky team selection against Slovakia Off icials feel wholesale changes were an unnecessary gamble that jeopardised England’s chances Daniel Taylor in Chantilly, France The Guardian oy Hodgson’s unsuccessful selection gamble in England’s fi nal group game of Euro 2016 has left senior fi gures within the Football Association ques- Rtioning whether he has made a serious error of judgment that could jeopardise the team’s progress and potentially have repercussions for his future as manager. While Hodgson is adamant he has “no re- grets” about making six changes for the goalless draw against Slovakia, his employers are dis- tinctly unimpressed by the risk-taking that fi n- ished with England losing their place at the top of Group B and forfeiting the chance to play one of the third-placed fi nishers in the fi rst knock- out round. Wayne Rooney is also understood to be aggrieved at Hodgson’s decision to leave him out, and at the calculated gamble of breaking up the side that played so impressively in the sec- ond half of the 2-1 win against Wales. Rooney had expected to play and Hodgson’s decision to rest his captain is one of the issues that has troubled the people who will decide at the end of the tournament whether England’s manager warrants a new contract. England’s inability to beat Slovakia has gone down badly with various FA executives because it means Wales will have, in theory, the easier game as group winners while Hodgson’s team will face the Group F runners-up Iceland in Nice on Monday. England have also been left with the daunting prospect of meeting France in the quarter-fi nals. Behind the scenes there is a fi rm belief that they did not have to make life so dif- fi cult for themselves – and that Hodgson went too far in giving half a dozen players their fi rst starts of the tournament. The issue is whether it will be held against him should England not make it past their next two games and what would happen if, for in- stance, they were to go out against France in a match that might have been avoided. Greg Dyke, the FA’s chairman, has already made it clear that England may have to reach the semi-fi nals if Hodgson is to continue in the job A disappointed Roy Hodgson leaves the pitch with Jamie Vardy (left) and Dele Alli after England’s stalemate against Slovakia.