Ronaldo omitted from Portugal squad
LISBON - Cristiano Ronaldo has been left out of Portugal's squad for the Nations League and friendly matches at his own request, coach Fernando Santos said Friday. Santos said he and Ronaldo had discussed the situation after the star moved from Real Madrid to Juventus. "After a conversation I had with the player, who had just signed with Juventus, I decided, given the process of adaptation he needed, that he would not be with us during this window," the coach said. Ronaldo scored at least 40 goals a season in the last eight seasons at Real Madrid but has yet to score for his new club. Portugal, who were knocked out of the World Cup in the last 16 by Uruguay, host World Cup finalists Croatia in a friendly in Faro on Thursday. Just 13 of the 24 Portuguese players selected were at the World Cup.–AFP
Belgium promotes Henry to assistant coach
BRUSSELS - Belgium on Friday promoted Thierry Henry to the number two job with the national side, just days after the Arsenal and France great turned down the manager's job at Bordeaux. The 41-year-old rebuffed the six-time French champions citing "uncertainty" behind the scenes at the club. Henry, the all-time leading goalscorer for both Arsenal and France, takes over from Graeme Jones who left the Belgian set-up to join the staff at West Bromwich Albion. As forwards coach, Henry played a major role in guiding a talented Belgian side to the World Cup semi-final where they were edged out by France. "We are delighted that he has decided to stay with the Red Devils, and to stay with what we started in the World Cup in Russia, a very important moment for us," Martinez told a news conference.–AFP
Mourinho insists he is ‘greatest’
MANCHESTER - Jose Mourinho insisted on Friday he is one of the world's best managers in a continued defence of his managerial record despite Manchester United's recent struggles. "I am the manager of one of the greatest clubs in the world but I am also one of the greatest managers in the world," said Mourinho. That was the start of another edgy exchange between Mourinho and journalists in which he was asked whether he could still claim to be one of the greatest managers should he fail to win a league title with United. Mourinho cited 18th century German philosopher Georg Hegel. "Of course. Hegel says the truth is in the whole, the truth is always in the whole. Do you ask that question to the manager that finished third in the Premier League or fourth? To the manager who finished fifth?"–AFP
Islamabad Academy FC rout CDA Club
ISLAMABAD - Islamabad Academy Football Club defeated CDA Club 3-0 goals in the Jashan-i-Azadi Football Tournament 2018 match here at Rover ground on Friday. Nusarat scored the first goal in the 15th minute of the first half. Islamabad Academy continued to miss chances one after another, before they finally doubled their lead through Mati, who struck the second goal in the 30th minute. The first half ended with Islamabad Academy FC leading 2-0. It would have been perfect start to the second half, as Islamabad Academy got a penalty kick, but they failed to score in the 47th minute. Islamabad Academy finally scored the third goal in the 55th minute, as Saad completed the rout. They could have easily scored half a dozen goals, had they not missed countless opportunities.–Staff Reporter
NBP Tennis Championship commences
ISLAMABAD – NBP Twin Cities Tennis Championship 2018 commenced here at Islamabad Tennis Complex with more than 120 male and female players were in action on the opening day. Former Pakistan Davis Cup team coach and MD of ICT Fazle Subhan was the chief guest at the opening ceremony, while ITF Level-III coach Kamran Khalil, senior officials from National Bank of Pakistan and others were also present on the occasion. In junior U-18 category, M Huzaifa Khan beat M Zaid Nasir 6-1, 6-4 and M Talha Khan beat Hamid Ullah 6-0, 6-0. In U-14 category, Ahmed Nail beat Yahya Musa Luni 4-2, 4-0, Saad Rizwan beat Ahmed Ali 5-4(4), 4-1, Hamza Asim beat Sheryar Ali 4-0, 4-0, Rayan Kh beat Hashir bin Khurram 4-0, 4-0, Hamid Ullah Yaqoob beat Ammar Masood 4-0, 4-0 and Abdullah Azhar beat Talha Rizwan 4-0, 4-2.–Staff Reporter