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Ronaldo breaks record as Portugal up and running with Ghana win

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Cristiano Ronaldo drew a line under a tumultuous tournament build-up as he wrote his name in the record books to become the first man to score in five World Cups in a 3-2 victory for Portugal over Ghana on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Ronaldo drilled home a penalty in the 65th minute of the Group H encounter to set his side on their way and while Andre Ayew equalised for Ghana, Portugal turned on the afterburners with two quick-fire goals to effectively seal the deal at Stadium 974.

According to Reuters Joao Felix produced a delicate finish to give them the lead and Rafael Leao added a third to hand Portugal their first win in the opening match of the World Cup since 2006, even if Osman Bukari pulled another one back for Ghana late on.

The win was not the most convincing for Portugal, and will come as some relief for Fernando Santos’s side, who top the group with three points and next face Uruguay on Monday, when Ghana play South Korea.

For all Portugal’s enterprising attacking play and the goalscoring performances of Felix and Leao, it was Ronaldo who once again showed his unparalleled ability to draw the limelight.

“I think Cristiano is a phenomenon, a legend… in 50 years’ time, we will still be talking about him,” Santos said.

The bitter end to Ronaldo’s second spell at Manchester United had dominated the build-up to the match in much the same way the forward seems to dominate the way Portugal play, read the report.

Against Ghana, Ronaldo seemed to exert a planetary gravitational pull on the ball, with team mates seeking him out at every opportunity.

For vast swathes of the match, everything revolved around Ronaldo, who lurked threateningly on the edge of the Ghana box, with almost all his side’s attacking moves ending up at his feet.

He had two early chances, a one-on-one when a heavy touch let him down, and a header where he typically hovered in the air before glancing his effort wide.

He then smacked the ball in the back of the net after 31 minutes only to realise the referee had already blown his whistle for a foul.

For Ghana, the youngest squad at the World Cup, their early ambitions rarely stretched beyond the halfway line as the lowest-ranked side in the tournament set about keeping almost everyone behind the ball at all times in the first half, Reuters reported.

Most of the action was condensed into a relatively short period after the 60th minute with Portugal taking the lead when awarded a soft penalty after Ronaldo went down following minimal shoulder-to-shoulder contact with Mohammed Salisu.

Ronaldo closed his eyes as he waited to begin his run up, stuttered and smashed the ball into the net to the keeper’s right.

The entire Portugal team raced down the touchline to pile on top of the 37-year-old, who surpassed Pele, Uwe Seeler and Miroslav Klose as the only player to find the net in five separate men’s World Cups.

It is the 10th consecutive major tournament in which Ronaldo has found the net although Ghana coach Otto Addo was not in the mood to be charitable.

“It was the wrong decision… It was actually a foul against us,” he said of the penalty award.

“If somebody scores a goal, congratulations. But this was a gift. A special gift from the referee.”

As it was, his Ghana side fired back quickly when Mohammed Kudus’s cross bobbled its way through a defender’s legs to Ayew who tapped home.

Portugal, however, then revved into gear with Felix latching onto a Bruno Fernandes throughball and lifting his finish nonchalantly over the keeper, read the report.

Fernandes was the architect of their third goal too, playing another superb throughball for substitute Leao to slide his finish across the keeper and into the bottom corner.

There was tension at the end, however, as Ghana pulled another goal back with Osman Bukari, appearing unmarked in the box, heading in a cross from the left in the 89th minute, giving a sliver of hope to Ghana’s fans behind that goal.

There was to be no fairytale ending for the Ghanaians though and the night belonged to Ronaldo.

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South Africa crowned World Test Champions after historic win over Australia

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South Africa have clinched their first ICC title in 27 years, beating Australia to win the World Test Championship (WTC) final 2025.

Aiden Markram slammed a memorable century, and captain Temba Bavuma fought through injury to score a combined 102 runs in the match, as SA chased down a daunting target of 282 on Day 4.

It is the first WTC title for the Proteas. Kagiso Rabada starred with the ball, taking nine wickets in the match.

Chasing 282 for victory, South Africa reached their target with 282 for 5 just before lunch on Day 4. Markram was dismissed for a brilliant 136, only six runs shy of the finish line, but by then, the job was all but done.

This victory marks South Africa’s first-ever major ICC trophy win, finally putting to rest a history of heartbreaks. In 18 previous attempts across the ODI and T20 World Cups, the Proteas had only reached one final—last year’s T20 World Cup in Barbados, where they suffered a crushing defeat to India despite needing just 30 runs off the last 30 balls with six wickets in hand.

But at Lord’s, they held their nerve. Resuming Day 4 on 213 for 2, with Markram already having reached three figures the day before, South Africa calmly completed the chase to etch their name in cricketing history.

Match Summary

Australia 1st Innings: 212 (B. Webster 72, S. Smith 66; K. Rabada 5–51, M. Jansen 3–49)

South Africa 1st Innings: 138 (D. Bedingham 45; P. Cummins 6–28)

Australia 2nd Innings: 207 (M. Starc 58*; K. Rabada 4–59, L. Ngidi 3–38)

South Africa 2nd Innings: 282–5 (A. Markram 136, T. Bavuma 66; M. Starc 3–66)

It’s worth noting that Ariana Radio and Television Network (ATN) broadcast this thrilling match live and exclusively for fans across Afghanistan, allowing cricket lovers in the country to witness history unfold.

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AFPL: Omid and Sadaqat win 15th and 16th matches

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The 15th and 16th matches of Afghanistan Premier Futsal League Season 4 took place on Friday in Kabul, with Omid FC and Sadaqat FC claiming impressive victories.

In the opening match of the day, Omid FC delivered a dynamic performance, defeating Zaitoon FC 5–1 in a high-energy contest.

Later, in the 16th match, Sadaqat FC overpowered Deyar Sanayee FC with a commanding 6–2 win, further solidifying their position in the tournament.

All matches are being held at the Futsal Committee Gymnasium of the Afghanistan Football Federation in Kabul.

Looking ahead to Sunday, the 17th match will feature a clash between Etihad FC and Zaher Asad FC, followed by the 18th match where Arya Forj will take on Jawanan Maihan FC.

Futsal fans across Afghanistan can watch all matches live and exclusively on Ariana Radio and Television Network (ATN).

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AFPL: Perozi Panjshir 4–2 Jawanan Maihan, Etihad 3–0 Noorzad

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Afghanistan Futsal Premier League continued on Thursday with two exciting matchups, as Perozi Panjshir staged a comeback victory while Etihad cruised to a dominant win.

In Match 13, Perozi Panjshir defeated Jawanan Maihan 4–2. Jawanan Maihan took an early lead by scoring the first two goals of the match, but Perozi responded with an impressive turnaround, netting four unanswered goals.

In Match 14, Etihad delivered a solid performance with a 3–0 win over Noorzad.

With the competition heating up in Kabul, fans are eagerly awaiting the next round of fixtures in what has become an increasingly competitive season.

Two more matches are scheduled for Friday, with Zaitoon set to face Omid at 1:30 PM, followed by Deyar-e Sanayee taking on Sadaqat at 3:45 PM.

Fans can catch all the action live on Ariana Radio and Television Network (ATN).

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