Established 1961 15 Sports Sunday, June 27, 2021 Relentless Ronaldo makes Portugal believe again before Belgium MADRID: Portugal felt the full range of emotions dur- young Renato Sanches and the veteran Joao Moutinho, ing the Euro 2020 group stage and with Cristiano who both rose to the challenge against Paul Pogba and Ronaldo in the groove again, they can really begin to N’Golo Kante. believe. After scoring three late goals to beat Hungary, Sanches brought some much-needed dynamism to Portugal were shaken by a 4-2 loss to Germany, only the team while the 34-year-old Moutinho’s surgical for a 2-2 draw against France to restore morale and passing gave Portugal the guile and direction they had ensure they snuck out of Group F in third place. lacked against Germany. “We can fight against the best The result is a last-16 clash with Belgium in Seville teams,” said Santos. “Either we believe or we don’t tonight, when one of the tournament favorites will bow because we can beat anyone and I’ll keep saying it — out in what is surely the blockbuster tie of the round. no team thinks they will have an easy time against One of the frontrunners for the Golden Boot will fall Portugal.” too, with Ronaldo and Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku both The principal threat against Belgium will be in contention. Ronaldo leads the scoring charts on five Ronaldo who, at 36, is sparkling again on the biggest goals with Lukaku not far behind on three. stage, delivering goals and breaking records from the Portugal may have taken only a point from a sweaty outset. Ronaldo had never previously scored in six contest with France at the Puskas Arena in Budapest meetings with France but his two penalties means he but the belief and confidence gained from going toe- has already achieved his best Euro tally, after scoring to-toe with the world champions could be pivotal for twice in 2004, once in 2008 and three times in both the rest of their tournament. After chaos against 2012 and 2016. Germany came concentration against the French, a He has pulled five clear of Michel Platini’s previous committed, organized and aggressive performance record of nine goals in total at European which was a reminder of what carried Portugal to suc- Championships and became the first ever to score in cess at Euro 2016 and in the Nations League three five different editions of the competition. Against years later. France, Ronaldo also equaled the world record for “We were strong and consistent. The players international goals held since 2006 by Ali Daei, who helped each other, we had possession, we attacked has 109 for Iran. well. We improved a lot from the game against There may be an added personal incentive for Germany,” said Portugal’s coach Fernando Santos Ronaldo to outshine Lukaku, who pipped the Juventus afterwards. Santos had responded too, reacting to crit- striker to Serie A’s player of the season award last sea- icism by reverting to his traditional 4-3-3 system of the son despite scoring five fewer goals. Lukaku’s 24 goals past two years and making some bold changes to his were fundamental to Inter Milan’s Scudetto success starting line-up. but the 28-year-old’s work rate, pressing and link-up play meant he was more of an overall contributor than ‘We can beat anyone’ Ronaldo. In contrast, Ronaldo is all about the end- SEVILLE: A combination of file pictures shows Belgium’s forward Romelu Lukaku (left) and Portugal’s for- William Carvalho and Bruno Fernandes, who both game — the goals, the victories and the trophies, with ward Cristiano Ronaldo. —AFP struggled in the first two games, made way for the Portugal hoping to follow his lead. —AFP Hungary, but now it’s a knockout game.” Germany’s Mueller Yesterday was the 25-year anniversary of Germany’s Euro 96 semi-final win over England at declares himself fit Wembley where current Three Lions manager Gareth Czechs miss training for England showdown Southgate missed the crucial penalty in the shoot-out. Keep Kane quiet in Budapest over HERZOGENAURACH: Germany forward Thomas “It was the first tournament that I was really aware Mueller insists his knee injury will not stop him facing of,” said Bayern Munich star Mueller, who was six bizarre plane defect England in Tuesday’s blockbuster Euro 2020 last 16 years old at the time. “But even then it was a close clash at Wembley. “If I it was a problem, I wouldn’t result. Personally, I have a good experience of playing PRAGUE: A plane door defect involving an inflated have trained today,” Mueller said yesterday at at Wembley Stadium having won the Champions evacuation slide stopped the Czech Republic on their Germany’s Euro 2020 base camp in Bavaria. “The League final there in 2013.” way to a Euro 2020 knockout game against the capsular injury does not hold me back and I am expe- This is Mueller’s third European Championship, yet Netherlands in Budapest, the team said yesterday. The rienced enough to deal with it. I’m convinced it won’t he is still waiting for his first goal at the tournament. HERZOGENAURACH: Germany’s midfielder Jamal Musiala Czechs, who qualified as the third best team in Group be a problem for Tuesday.” “It would be nice to score on Tuesday, but the most and forward Thomas Mueller (right) attend an auto- D, are facing Group C winners the Netherlands at the Mueller is expected to start against England hav- important thing for me is that we go through,” he said. graph-signing session with supporters after their train- Puskas Arena in a last-16 tie tonight. ing at the team base camp in Herzogenaurach yesterday ing been left out of the line-up for Wednesday’s 2-2 Like Mueller, England striker Harry Kane has yet The players were already sitting on the special during the UEFA Euro 2020 football competition. —AFP draw with Hungary, in which he came on as a second- to open his goal account at the finals and the plane on Saturday morning, but they had to get off half replacement. The 31-year-old Mueller and Germans aim to keep the opposing captain quiet at over the defect. “I have experienced delayed flights, Germany captain Manuel Neuer, 35, are the only sur- Wembley. The Germans have won the last four meetings postponed flights, even cancelled flights because of the coronavirus,” tweeted midfielder Alex Kral. “But vivors from the team which beat England 4-1 in the “Great strikers are the best at being patient,” said between the countries in the knockout stages of major this is my first flight that didn’t happen because of an last 16 of the 2010 World Cup. Sunday marks exactly Mueller, who has scored 39 goals in 105 internation- tournaments. Yet Germany winger Serge Gnabry evacuation slide inflated by mistake,” said the 11 years since that match. als since his Germany debut in 2010. “A striker is talked up England’s chances. “England have great Spartak Moscow player. He added photos of the “We won against England in 2010 - that has always waiting for his chances. He usually has the players in their ranks,” said the Bayern Munich for- slide from inside and outside the plane, complete nothing to do with Tuesday, but it might give some least contact with the ball, but the biggest picture in ward who began his career with Arsenal. “We have a with a “slidesandjumpingcastles” hashtag. National of you a good feeling,” he told reporters. “We are the newspaper after the game. I don’t know why he lot of respect, no matter what the media reports are.” team spokesman Petr Sedivy said later the flight was looking forward to playing a big name in England. hasn’t got into the final positions that he usually gets “We want to play and beat them with a perform- “not cancelled over an evacuation slide inflated BY Both teams had convincing performances in the into. For us, it would be no problem at all if the dis- ance like the one we had against Portugal,” refer- MISTAKE but over technical problems with the group stages, but also had games where they were cussion (about Kane’s form) lasts until Wednesday ring to Germany’s 4-2 win over the holders in the plane door”. —AFP criticized. We were hoping to play better against and we don’t concede a goal.” group stage. —AFP battle at Euro 2004 in Portugal, won by the Czechs who advanced to the tournament and finished as runners-up. Czechs face came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2. “People still remem- The latest sweet memories are as recent as the Euro 2016 ber that one best,” says Vladimir Smicer, the former Lens qualifying campaign. and Liverpool winger, who scored the decider after a self- The Czech Republic beat the Netherlands twice, 2-1 at Netherlands with less pass from Karel Poborsky. home and 3-2 in Amsterdam, the latter when Robin van Aside from those two, the star-studded Czech team Persie scored a bizarre own goal to help the 10-man Czechs comprised Petr Cech, Pavel Nedved, Tomas Rosicky, Jan advance to the finals while the Dutch stayed at home. In that history on their side Koller, Milan Baros and Tomas Galasek, who spent a decade game, the first goal was scored by Pavel Kaderabek, who playing in the Netherlands.