tag

Brazil and Portugal headline today’s FIFA U-17 World Cup semi-finals in Doha, a meeting of two continental champions with everything on the line. The match kicks off at 7:00pm at Aspire Zone.Portugal continue their chase for a first-ever U-17 world title, while Brazil look to edge closer to a record-equalling fifth trophy.Portugal’s creative spark Mateus Mide remains central to their hopes, with four goals and two assists so far. Intelligent, sharp and decisive in tight spaces, he was on target again in the 2-0 quarter-final win over Switzerland. Brazil, however, lean on the tournament’s most feared finisher: Dell, whose power and precision have drawn comparisons to Erling Haaland.His brace against Morocco took him to five goals, firmly placing him in the Golden Boot race.Brazil will have to cope without suspended trio Vitor Hugo, Luis Eduardo and Arthur Ryan, though coach Dudu Patetuci brings experience – he was assistant coach during Brazil’s 2019 triumph. His counterpart, Bino, carries history of his own, having been part of Portugal’s squad the last time they reached this stage back in 1989.**media[385330]**Austria vs Italy Earlier at 4:30pm, Austria and Italy meet in a showdown between two teams that have won all six of their matches so far – an unprecedented run that has brought both nations to the brink of their first U-17 World Cup final.Austria’s talisman Johannes Moser has taken Qatar 2025 by storm with six goals, making him joint-top scorer.Captain Jakub Pokorny couldn’t hide his admiration, calling Moser “just incredible... like something I haven’t seen before.” Their momentum is fierce, having swept past England before surviving a gruelling quarter-final against Japan. “It was the toughest match we ever played in our lives,” Pokorny admitted. “Japan is a very good team... but we are together and I feel like nobody can stop us.**media[385331]**I think we can go all the way.”Italy, disciplined and composed, have been anchored by captain Luca Reggiani, a defender who has put in three consecutive Player-of-the-Match displays in the knockout rounds. Calm and commanding, he is Italy’s heartbeat. Suspensions, however, hit both sides: Ifeanyi Ndukwe for Austria and David Marini for Italy. “We know that they are a very good team,” Reggiani said. “The fact that they are in the semi-finals says it all.But we’re going to work hard to prepare... and keep pushing ourselves. We’re really looking forward to it.” Austria are also chasing national history - no Austrian team, at any age level, has ever reached a World Cup final. Italy bring their own storylines too, including the background of rising star Samuele Inacio, whose Brazilian father Pia played professionally for clubs such as Atalanta, Napoli and Torino.Today’s winners will advance to Thursday’s final at Khalifa International Stadium, setting the stage for one more chapter in a tournament that has already delivered drama, discovery and a new generation of global stars.

Britain, Australia, Canada and Portugal on Sunday recognised a Palestinian state in a coordinated, historic shift in decades of Western foreign policy, triggering swift anger from Israel.Other countries, including France, are due to follow Monday at the annual UN General Assembly opening in New York.Israel has come under huge international pressure over its war against Hamas in Gaza, which has sparked a dire humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the statehood moves, later vowing to expand Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.Netanyahu spoke after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain was formally recognising the State of Palestine "to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution".The UK and Canada became the first members of the Group of Seven advanced economies to take the step, with Australia following suit.Portugal said Sunday it recognises a Palestinian state, making it the latest Western nation to make the symbolic move as the war in Gaza shows no sign of ending."Recognizing the State of Palestine is therefore the fulfilment of a fundamental, consistent, and widely agreed policy," Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel told reporters in New York."Portugal advocates the two-state solution as the only path to a just and lasting peace, one that promotes coexistence and peaceful relations between Israel and Palestine," he added.Three-quarters of UN members now recognise Palestinian statehood, with at least 144 of the 193 member countries having taken the step.Canada "offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future", Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on X.Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the move "recognises the legitimate and long held aspirations of the people of Palestine to a state of their own".Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas hailed the recognitions as "an important and necessary step toward achieving a just and lasting peace".French President Emmanuel Macron insisted in an interview with a US television network that releasing the hostages captured in 2023 would be "a requirement very clearly before opening, for instance, an embassy in Palestine".It is a watershed moment for Palestinians and their ambitions for statehood, with the most powerful Western nations having long argued it should only come as part of a negotiated peace deal with Israel.Although a largely symbolic move, it puts those countries at odds with the US and Israel.US President Donald Trump said last week after talks with Starmer during a state visit to the UK that "one of our few disagreements" was over Palestinian statehood.A growing number of longtime Israeli allies have shifted their long-held positions as Israel has intensified its Gaza offensive.The Gaza Strip has suffered vast destruction, with a growing international outcry over the besieged coastal territory's spiralling death toll and a UN-declared famine.The UK government has come under increasing public pressure to act, with thousands of people rallying every month on the streets. A poll released by YouGov on Friday showed two-thirds of British people aged 18-25 supported Palestinian statehood.

Portugal’s Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) held off Danish race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) at the top of the brutal summit finish of Angliru to win stage 13 of the Vuelta a Espana Friday.The top two in the general classification battled it out for the stage win, leaving the rest behind in the final five km.Almeida did all the work on the climb and stayed ahead of Vingegaard in the sprint to the line.“This is a special one, I still don’t believe it,” Almeida said after the stage.“I just put my pace from the bottom and I just did my bit the best I could.“Jonas was always on my wheel, we were both on the limit and I was waiting for his attack anytime.”Thanks to the bonus seconds for the stage win, Almeida closed the gap to the red jersey to 46 seconds, with Britain’s Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) losing time but holding onto third overall, two minutes and 18 seconds off the leader.Australian Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA Hansgrohe) finished third on the 202.7km ride from Cabezon de la Sal to Alto de L’Angliru, 28 seconds behind the leading pair, just ahead of Vingegaard’s teammate Sepp Kuss.Kuss, Vuelta winner in 2023, almost lost his red jersey on Angliru that year when teammates Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic left him behind, with Roglic edging out the Dane at the finish.‘HARDEST CLIMB IN THE WORLD’Vingegaard suffered a similar fate this time around, despite looking like he was just biding his time, tucked in behind Almeida as they suffered on the final twists and turns of the infamous climb, but his attack never came.“I thought he was going to pass me on the finish line,” Almeida said. “I took the last corner and then it’s hard to pass. I think this is the hardest climb in the world, its crazy, I’m really sore.”Almeida’s pain gained him his first individual Vuelta stage win along with four seconds in the GC, and topping Angliru ahead of the race favourite may just give him the confidence he needs to go for the title.“I still have a lot of time to make up,” Almeida said.“He’s looking phenomenal so it’s gonna be a hard task but we never give up.”Pidcock also never gave up, despite getting dropped by the leaders, and came in seventh, but the race does look set to be a fight between Vingegaard and Almeida.Bob Jungels of Luxembourg (Ineos Grenadiers) put in a brave battle, part of a large breakaway group early in the stage, and the last man to be caught.At the foot of Angliru, with Nicolya Vinokurov still alongside him, pro-Palestinian protesters delayed the pair’s progress before police cleared the small group from the road.Junegles was left behind in the final seven km by the main GC contenders, and then it became a race between the top two.Today’s stage 14 is a shorter 135.9km ride from Aviles with another summit finish at Alto de La Farrapona.