Messi, Cristiano unveil national team kits

Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 900th goal of his remarkable career on Thursday as Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in Lisbon in their first game of the UEFA Nations League.

Ronaldo, 39, turned in a Nuno Mendes cross in the 34th minute of the match at the Estadio da Luz to reach the landmark.

He appeared emotional as he celebrated the goal, his 131st in a Portugal shirt. Half of his goals were scored for Real Madrid, with the remainder spread across his spells at Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United and current club Al-Nassr.

Diogo Dalot's goal had put Portugal in front early on before Ronaldo netted, with a Dalot own-goal reducing the deficit before the break.

The teams are in Group A1 of the latest edition of the Nations League along with Poland and Scotland.

Portugal host Scotland in Lisbon on Sunday.

France's teenage forward Kylian Mbappe, who scored two goals as Les Bleus beat Argentina in the round of 16 yesterday, brushed off comparisons with Brazil great Pele.

"I'm very happy, and it's flattering to be compared to a great player like Pele," he said.

"But he's in another category. Still, it's great to join the list of players that have achieved such feats."

Mbappe was born in 1998, the year Les Bleus secured their first World Cup title under captain Didier Deschamps.

Deschamps, now national manager, praised his team's character to fight back from 2-1 down.

"If I am a coach it is because I want to live this: a full stadium, highly experienced teams. Our team is much younger, but it's there," Deschamps said.

"We answered the call, we have a lot of character and it was not easy as we were leading, then there was an equaliser, then we were 2-1 behind, but we kept fighting."

Al Nassr struggled in Cristiano Ronaldo's absence on Monday, when the Saudi club kicked off the revamped Asian Champions League with a 1-1 draw against Al Shorta in Iraq.

Al Nassr captain Ronaldo did not travel with the squad for the match in Baghdad, with the club issuing a statement a day before stating that the Portuguese superstar had been diagnosed with a viral infection.

Al Nassr, who were knocked out of last season's Asian Champions League in the quarter-finals by eventual champions Al Ain, were given a dream start in the Iraqi capital, when full-back Sultan Al Ghannam met Otavio's astute, first-time pass on 14 minutes to finish low past Al Shorta goalkeeper Ahmed Basil.

However, the hosts drew level 10 minutes later.

A mix-up at the back between new signings Salem Al Najdi and former RB Leipzig defender Mohamed Simakan allowed Al Shorta forward Mohammed Dawood to steal in and send a superb effort high past Bento in the Al Nassr goal.

Meanwhile, fellow Saudi side Al Ahli eked to a 1-0 victory at home to Iran's Persepolis in Jeddah, with new recruit Ivan Toney making his Asian football debut.

Ivory Coast international Franck Kessie set the home side on their way in the second minute, rifling home from Riyad Mahrez's assist.

Persepolis were awarded a penalty four minutes before half-time, when Merih Demiral was deemed to have committed a foul inside the area, however the decision was overturned following a VAR review.

In the second half, Toney won Al Ahli a spot-kick of their own –- he was felled by rival defender Hossein Kanani -- only for Mahrez's penalty to be saved well by Persepolis goalkeeper Alexis Guendouz.

England international Toney, a high-profile signing late last month from Premier League club Brentford, missed a golden opportunity to open his account five minutes from time, but dragged his shot wide.

He had made his debut for Al Ahli last Friday.

Elsewhere, Al Ain began their title defence with a 1-1 draw at home to Qatar's Al Sadd.

Akram Afif, 2019 Asian Football of the Year and player of the tournament at the Asian Cup earlier this year, opened the scoring at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on the hour.

But Al Ain earned a point 10 minutes from time, through Argentine Matias Palacios.

In Monday's other match, Iran's Esteghlal saw off Qatari side Al Gharafa 3-0.

The new format features 24 teams -– 12 from West Asia and 12 from East Asia.

With each club playing four matches at home and four away, the top eight in each side of the draw progress to the knockout stages early next year.

France won the match, but not the hearts.

The first semifinal between the two best sides of the World Cup failed to live up to its Battle Royale billing. It was a good match but could have been great had France not played negative football. There was no reason for France to play defensively.

Didier Deschamps could not emerge as a coach of attacking and entertaining football despite having all the weapons in his armoury to do so. He brought the most talented and balanced side among all 32 teams to Russia. Thirteen of the 23 players are of African origin. They were solid everywhere in the line-up, with equally qualified alternatives on the bench. They were all young, hugely talented and highly adventurous.

Yet, the game plan of France's 1998 World Cup-winning captain was solely aimed at winning the match, not the hearts of fans who love beautiful football. He was an orthodox defender in his playing days and has brought that defensive football gene into his coaching. What a disappointment!  

It was a sore sight during most of the first half when play was limited to France's half, with Roberto Martinez's men attacking and Deschamps's young talents defending. Thanks to a chancy header by Samuel Umtiti from a curling corner by Antoine Griezmann after the break, France could get away with their ugly game and reach the final for the third time. A goal came from a set-piece in an unlikely France way. It was the first goal by France from a set-piece in this tournament.

My heart really goes out to Belgium, and I can't agree more with captain Eden Hazard for feeling so bitter about France's style of play.    

"I prefer to lose with Belgium than win with France," said Hazard after the match. "We know Deschamps' France. We expected that, but we couldn't find that little spark to score a goal. I didn't find it. France scored first and it became difficult.”

Belgium indeed played brilliant football. They had far better ball possession (64 percent), number of passes (595 against France's 345) and corners (5 against France's 4). The Red Devils ruled the whole pitch yet something went wrong when their marksmen entered the D-box and tried to shoot or head into the net --  just some small things they could not do right in front of the goal like Brazil, their opponents in the quarterfinals.

Lady Luck was with them against Brazil, but three days later, against France, she switched sides.

A reversal of fate it may seem. Against Brazil, Belgium chose to keep fending off waves of attacks before knocking the five-time champions out of the tournament on fast counters. Tuesday night saw a role reversal, with Belgium, like Brazil, on the offence and France, like Belgium against Brazil, on the back foot. Belgium dominated the match and France got lucky on the counter.

However, it was really eye-pleasing the way Eden Hazard played his game. He was always busy, doing something -- either winning the ball from his opponents' feet, making diagonal passes, dodging, turning and twisting to free himself from 2-3 chasing defenders or shooting on target. He was truly hazardous for France.

To me, Hazard was the best player with No. 10 jersey in this World Cup. And it is sad that he won't be the one to kiss the famous cup on July 15. But thank you, Hazard, for making football beautiful.

The writer is former Sports Editor of The Daily Star

Despite being at the twilight of their illustrious careers, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo continue to be prominent figures as FIFA on Friday announced the nominees for The Best FIFA Football Awards for 2024.

Messi is shortlisted for The Best FIFA Men's Player award -- a title he has won a record three times -- for having led Inter Miami to the MLS Supporters' Shield and winning the Copa América with Argentina. This marks his eighth consecutive nomination, making the eight-time Balon d'Or-winner the only player to feature every year since 2016.

Other nominees include Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland, and Kylian Mbappe and recent Ballon d'Or winner Rodri.

Ronaldo, meanwhile, missed the shortlist for the third year running but the five-time Balon d'Or-winner is one of the 77 players nominated for The Best FIFA Men's 11 of 2024, joining Messi among 22 forwards competing for a spot.

For the first time, fans share equal voting power with coaches, captains, and media for major awards, including selecting The Best FIFA Men's 11. Voting is open until December 10 this year on FIFA.com.