logo
Cristiano Ronaldo defends Lamine Yamal after Nations League win: Leave him alone

Cristiano Ronaldo defends Lamine Yamal after Nations League win: Leave him alone

India Today3 days ago

Cristiano Ronaldo came to the defence of Lamine Yamal after Portugal defeated Spain in the UEFA Nations League final on Sunday, June 8. Ronaldo scored the equaliser in the final as Portugal pushed the European champions into a penalty shootout, where they beat them 5-3 after the game ended 2-2 in normal time. While Ronaldo had a great game, the same couldn't be said about Yamal, who struggled to find a cutting edge. The Portuguese superstar, who praised Yamal before the final, once again jumped to the defence of the young sensation. Speaking after the game, Ronaldo said that Yamal is going to win a lot of accolades going forward, both individually and for his teams. advertisementRonaldo went on to say that Yamal has a lot of scope for improvement, and he is a phenomenon who should be left alone. The Portuguese superstar feels that the Spanish youngster has a big career ahead of him and will win the Nations League multiple times in the future.
"He's going to win a lot of titles, both collective and individual. He's only 17 years old... I repeat: he's a kid with a lot of room for improvement. He's a phenomenon, but we have to leave him alone, that's what I ask. He has a very long career ahead of him and will surely win the Nations League many times," said Ronaldo. Ronaldo also defended Luis de la Fuente and his decision to take of Yamal in the second half of extra time. The Portugal skipper said that De la Fuente knows what is best for the team and he made the call thinking it will help the side. "Your coach is a phenomenon. He knows better than I do—I'm not a coach—what the team needs. He's already won several titles with Spain. What more do you want me to say? If the coach made the decision, it was because he thought it was the best thing to improve his team," said Ronaldo.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Indian men's hockey team suffers third consecutive defeat in Pro League, loses 3-4 against Argentina
Indian men's hockey team suffers third consecutive defeat in Pro League, loses 3-4 against Argentina

The Hindu

time2 hours ago

  • The Hindu

Indian men's hockey team suffers third consecutive defeat in Pro League, loses 3-4 against Argentina

Sloppy defending cost the Indian men's hockey team dearly as it went down 3-4 to Argentina, slumping to its third consecutive defeat in the European leg of the FIH Pro League here on Wednesday. India had earlier lost 1-2 and 2-3 against Olympic champions Netherlands here. On Wednesday, the Indian defence were caught off guard by the Los Leones as they scored through skipper Matias Rey (3rd minute), Lucas Martinez (17th), Santiago Tarazona (34th) and Lucio Mendez (46th) to secure the win. India's goals were scored by skipper Harmanpreet Singh (12th, 33rd) and Abhishek (42nd). After back-to-back defeats against Netherlands, the Indians started positively and had the better share of possession in the first quarter. But it was Argentina who took the lead in the third minute through captain Matias Rey, courtesy an unforced error from Indian defender Amit Rohidas. Trailing, India, however, pressed hard and dominated the remaining of the quarter and finally restored parity in the 12th minute when skipper Harmanpreet converted a penalty -- the team's first penalty corner -- as both the teams were locked 1-1 at the end of the first quarter. Argentina, however, were the better side on display in the second quarter and took the lead again two minutes into the quarter when Martinez scored from top of the circle, courtesy again a defensive error from Rohidas. While the Indians used the ariel ball to perfection, unforced errors and sloppy defending proved to be their undoing. Three minutes after the change of ends, India equalised through a penalty stroke conversion by Harmanpreet, his second goal of the day. But India's joy was shortlived as 60 seconds later another defensive lapse cost the Harmanpreet-led side dearly when Tarazona pounced upon a mistake to hand his side the lead again. Argentina secured their first penalty corner soon but India defended stoutly. India pressed hard and secured their second penalty corner in the 39th minute but failed to utilise the chance. In the 42nd minute, Abhishek equalised for India, scoring from a rebound after Jarmanpreet Singh's initial shot from top of the circle was saved by Argentina goalkeeper Tomas Satiago. But it was heartbreak for India 18 seconds into the final quarter when Mendez scored to hand his side the decisive lead, courtesy another defensive lapse from the Indian backline. India had another chance to equalise when they were awarded a penalty corner in the 55th minute but wasted the opportunity. With three-and-a-half-minutes remaining and trailing by a goal, India withdrew their goalkeeper for an extra field player but that move didn't yield any result. India will again play Argentina in a return leg match here on Thursday.

Hockey, FIH Pro League: Erratic India made to pay for mistakes as Argentina prevail 4-3 in a rollercoaster
Hockey, FIH Pro League: Erratic India made to pay for mistakes as Argentina prevail 4-3 in a rollercoaster

Indian Express

time6 hours ago

  • Indian Express

Hockey, FIH Pro League: Erratic India made to pay for mistakes as Argentina prevail 4-3 in a rollercoaster

Argentina's first goal against India came in the 3rd minute of the FIH Pro League match in Amstelveen. The second goal came in the 17th – just two minutes after the start of Q2. The third came in 34th minute – not long after the second half started, and more relevantly, just within one minute of the restart after India made it 2-2. And the fourth – and decisive – goal came within 20 seconds of pushback at the start of the fourth quarter. The first two goals were completely avoidable unforced errors from India, and the next two came as they were caught on the back foot. When Craig Fulton took over as India's coach, he made it clear that his mantra is 'defend to win'. After the last two matches – both close defeats against world No 1 Netherlands – captain Harmanpreet Singh said, 'Our first priority is to defend.' On both those counts, India were found wanting as they lost 3-4 against Argentina to suffer their third straight defeat of this European leg. Unlike the two matches against Netherlands where they made the better start, India were slow to get off the blocks in the opening exchanges on Wednesday. Argentina began with a couple of circle entries, moving the ball at speed. A move down the right flank saw Krishan Pathak deal with a cutback but Amit Rohidas, collecting the ball right next to the byline, with barely any pressure on him, attempted an aerial ball that was mishit. The ball fell to Matias Rey at the edge of the circle and the Argentina captain fired in a bullet strike high to Pathak's left. It was a goal of India's own making, yet another unforced error as we saw against the Dutch, creating pressure on themselves out of nowhere. India did grow into the match in terms of ball possession after conceding that goal. With under four minutes left in Q1, Shilanand Lakra won the first Penalty Corner of the match. And Harmanpreet, as he does, stepped up and delivered. However, the good work of coming back into the game in Q1 was undone immediately at the start of the second quarter with another remarkably soft goal to concede. From a simple pass into the circle down the right flank, Lucas Martinez controlled the ball with his back to goal at the edge of the circle and hit a shot on the turn. It wasn't the strongest of shots but it came through Rohidas' attempted block, then past Jarmanpreet Singh who was marking another attacker and missed the ball, and then past Suraj Karkera in goal who reacted late, perhaps with the aforementioned defensive duo blocking his line of sight. The whole thing almost happened in slow motion, and it was another completely avoidable goal. Unlike Q1, there wasn't a reaction to conceding the second goal from India. The passing moves repeatedly broke down when Argentina crowded out the outlets, there were attempted dribbles where Indian players ran into traffic and lost possession. 'Yeah, not a good half at all from us on the ball,' Fulton, visibly frustrated, said at halftime. 'End of the day, we need to be better on the ball in our own half.' Within three minutes, a good long ball from Harmanpreet found Sukhjeet in space down the right channel and his cutback into the danger area resulted in a push on Mandeep Singh. India reviewed it immediately and ended up winning a stroke, that Harmanpreet converted cheekily the instant the whistle blew, leaving the goalkeeper no time to react. But once again, India's defence was split open far too easily right from the pushback. India lost the ball in Argentina's half, they took the free hit quickly, releasing Tadeo Marcucci down the right flank. He drove all the way into the circle and the cutback was bundled over the line by Santiago Tarazona, as Argentina took the lead in the very next minute after Harmanpreet's equaliser. Argentina kept the foot on the pedal and the Indian defence appeared rattled in deep defence. As India won a PC, thanks to Abhishek's 3D skills at the edge of the circle with 7 minutes to go in Q3, the broadcast camera panned to the dugout where captain Harmanpreet was seen entering the locker room area; he had picked up an injury from an earlier PC scramble in defence and having returned to full fitness after niggles early on in the season, he didn't return to action. India did manage to hit back again. The shot on goal from the right flank by Jarmanpreet Singh fell kindly on the rebound to Abhishek who lifted it into the net, but that goal was set up by a superb aerial ball from the left by Hardik Singh. But India were yet again pegged back at the start of a quarter, this time within half a minute. A sensational team move down the left flank saw the ball fall to Lucio Mendez in front of goal, and he lifted the ball over the defender's stick and hit it past Karkera on the volley. A high-quality goal, indeed but India were once again caught napping after a restart. Fulton decided to pull the goalkeeper off with just over three minutes to play for one final push but it didn't happen. 'After scoring a goal, we need to be defensively strong, we shouldn't switch off and concede goals in like just 20 seconds, we need to improve that,' vice captain Hardik said after the match. A similar analysis thrice in a row… now, that's a concerning pattern. Scoreline: Argentina 4 (Matias Rey 3′., Lucas Martinez 17′, Santiago Tarazona 34′, Lucio Mendez 46′) vs India 3 (Harmanpreet Singh 12′ and 33′, Abhishek 42′)

India suffer 3rd consecutive defeat in Pro League, lose 3-4 against Argentina
India suffer 3rd consecutive defeat in Pro League, lose 3-4 against Argentina

First Post

time6 hours ago

  • First Post

India suffer 3rd consecutive defeat in Pro League, lose 3-4 against Argentina

India suffered a third straight defeat in the FIH Pro League 2025, losing 3-4 to Argentina due to defensive lapses. Harmanpreet Singh scored twice but Argentina capitalised on Indian errors to seal the win. read more Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh during the match against England. Image: Hockey India Amstelveen (The Netherlands): Sloppy defending cost the Indian men's hockey team dearly as it went down 3-4 to Argentina, slumping to its third consecutive defeat in the European leg of the FIH Pro League here on Wednesday. India had earlier lost 1-2 and 2-3 against Olympic champions Netherlands here. On Wednesday, the Indian defence were caught off guard by the Los Leones as they scored through skipper Matias Rey (3rd minute), Lucas Martinez (17th), Santiago Tarazona (34th) and Lucio Mendez (46th) to scure the win. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India's goals were scored by skipper Harmanpreet Singh (12th, 33rd) and Abhishek (42nd). After back-to-back defeats against Netherlands, the Indians started positively and had the better share of possession in the first quarter. But it was Argentina who took the lead in the third minute through captain Matias Rey, courtesy an unforced error from Indian defender Amit Rohidas. Trailing, India, however, pressed hard and dominated the remaining of the quarter and finally restored parity in the 12th minute when skipper Harmanpreet converted a penalty – the team's first penalty corner – as both the teams were locked 1-1 at the end of the first quarter. Argentina, however, were the better side on display in the second quarter and took the lead again two minutes into the quarter when Martinez scored from top of the circle, courtesy again a defensive error from Rohidas. While the Indians used the ariel ball to perfection, unforced errors and sloppy defending proved to be their undoing. Three minutes after the change of ends, India equalised through a penalty stroke conversion by Harmanpreet, his second goal of the day. But India's joy was shortlived as 60 seconds later another defensive lapse cost the Harmanpreet-led side dearly when Tarazona pounced upon a mistake to hand his side the lead again. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Argentina secured their first penalty corner soon but India defended stoutly. India pressed hard and secured their second penalty corner in the 39th minute but failed to utilise the chance. In the 42nd minute, Abhishek equalised for India, scoring from a rebound after Jarmanpreet Singh's initial shot from top of the circle was saved by Argentina goalkeeper Tomas Satiago. But it was heartbreak for India 18 seconds into the final quarter when Mendez scored to hand his side the decisive lead, courtesy another defensive lapse from the Indian backline. India had another chance to equalise when they were awarded a penalty corner in the 55th minute but wasted the opportunity. With three-and-a-half-minutes remaining and trailing by a goal, India withdrew their goalkeeper for an extra field player but that move didn't yield any result. India will again play Argentina in a return leg match here on Thursday.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store