Ronaldo ends retirement speculation as Portugal name Nations League squad

Dallas: Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal reacts during the round of 16 match between Spain and Portugal at the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Dallas Stadium in Dallas, the United States, July 6, 2026. (Photo: Xinhua via IANS)

Lisbon, (IANS) Cristiano Ronaldo has ended speculation over his international future after being named in Portugal’s squad for their upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures, with new head coach Jorge Jesus including the veteran forward in his first selection.

Ronaldo had refused to confirm whether he would continue playing for Portugal after their FIFA World Cup 2026 round-of-16 defeat to eventual champions Spain in July. The 41-year-old had also indicated that the tournament would be his final World Cup but had not announced his retirement from international football.

His inclusion in Jesus’ first Portugal squad now confirms that Ronaldo remains available for national team duty as the European side begin a new chapter under their new head coach.

Jesus was appointed to replace Roberto Martinez following Portugal’s World Cup exit. The former Al-Nassr coach is also familiar with Ronaldo, having worked with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner at club level in Saudi Arabia, where the duo won the league title last season.

Jesus, however, stressed that Ronaldo would not receive preferential treatment under his management.

“All the called-up players are at my disposal; if he performs well, he plays. If he doesn’t perform well, he doesn’t play. That’s how I treat everyone," Jesus told reporters.

Ronaldo remains the leading scorer in men’s international football with 146 goals and is also chasing the landmark of 1,000 career goals. He currently has 979 goals across club and international football.

Jesus believes Ronaldo is likely to reach the milestone with Al-Nassr rather than Portugal.

“I think he’s more likely to score his thousandth goal for Al-Nassr than for the Portuguese national team,” Jesus said.

Portugal will begin their Nations League campaign at home against Wales on September 24 before travelling to face Norway three days later. They will then take Denmark away on October 1 before hosting Norway on October 4.

Portugal Squad:

Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa, Rui Silva, and Samuel Soares.

Defenders: Goncalo Inacio, Renato Veiga, Ruben Dias, Tomas Araujo, Joao Cancelo, Diogo Dalot, Nuno Tavares, and Nuno Mendes.

Midfielders: Bruno Fernandes, Joao Palhinha, Ruben Neves, Joao Neves, Vitinha, and Bernardo Silva.Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Fabio Silva, Trincao, Francisco Conceicao, Goncalo Ramos, Joao Felix, Pedro Neto, Rafael Leao. Ronaldo ends retirement speculation as Portugal name Nations League squad | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

Read More........ → September 19, 2026

Wimbledon: Jannik Sinner beats Zverev to claim back-to-back titles

Credit: Wimbledon

London, July 13 (IANS) Defending champion Jannik Sinner successfully kept his Wimbledon title, defeating French Open champion Alexander Zverev 6-7(7), 7-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a high-quality final at the centre court on Sunday.

This victory marks his second consecutive title at the All England Club and the fifth Grand Slam trophy of his career. The 24-year-old continued his impressive dominance over the German, achieving a 10th straight win against Zverev. However, his streak of 14 consecutive sets won against him ended when he dropped the opening-set tiebreak.

Zverev, 29, was hoping to claim a second straight major title but was once again stopped by the world's top-ranked player. He now has an 0-7 record against No. 1-ranked players at Grand Slams. Sinner clinched the victory in style, hitting a stunning crosscourt backhand winner off a Zverev drop shot to earn championship point. He then finished the match with a powerful forehand winner up the line. After winning, the Italian collapsed onto the grass in celebration and embraced Zverev at the net.

After narrowly losing a fiercely contested opening-set tie-break, the Italian responded with remarkable composure to edge the second set in another tie-break before taking complete control of the contest. Sinner’s relentless baseline hitting, superior returning and calm temperament proved decisive as he sealed the biggest title of his career.

Although Zverev fired 17 aces and landed 80 percent of his first serves, Sinner was more clinical in the crucial moments. The Italian won 80 per cent of points on his first serve, claimed 68 percent on his second serve, converted two of his five break-point opportunities, and dominated from the baseline by winning 43 receiving points compared to Zverev’s 34.

Sinner finished the match with 145 points to Zverev’s 130 and won 25 games overall, underlining his consistency across the three-hour-plus contest.

The victory marks Sinner’s second Wimbledon crown and further cements his status as one of the sport’s leading stars, while Zverev’s wait for a maiden Grand Slam title continues despite another valiant effort on one of tennis’ biggest stages.

Brief score:

Wimbledon Men’s Singles Final: Jannik Sinner (Italy) bt Alexander Zverev (Germany) 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-4.

Every Grand Slam is different, but this one means a lot: Sinner on Wimbledon glory

After winning his Grand Slam major, Jannik Sinner emphasised the meaning of his latest major win and said every major is different, but the taste of this Wimbledon triumph has all its own flavour.

Maybe there’s something about a traumatic reverse at Roland-Garros that instils in Sinner a particular hunger for Wimbledon. Last year he arrived here after losing to Carlos Alcaraz from three Championship points up in the Paris final and won his first Wimbledon.

This time he played the final here 45 days after Juan Manuel Cerundolo overturned Sinner’s two-set lead in the second round at Roland-Garros… and won his second Wimbledon crown.

The Italian repelled the three-hour, 46-minute all-out attack from Alexander Zverev to win 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-4.

“I think every Grand Slam is different,” Sinner said in his post-match press conference after his win. “Different story, different environment, different feelings before the tournament. For me this one means a lot because it was a tough one after Paris again. Last year was also tough."

"But coming here, I tried to put myself in the best possible position to be as competitive as possible. Definitely sacrificing a lot of my time and everything to be in this position. Having this achievement, it means a lot to me. It was an amazing day today," he added.

Sinner entered Sunday’s title showdown on a nine-match winning streak against Zverev in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Yet the second-seeded German, riding high after winning his first major crown at Roland Garros last month, threatened to snap that run by bringing some of his best tennis to their latest encounter, particularly up to the second-set tie-break.

"Big, big respect to Sascha, because he's doing something amazing," Sinner said. "His game is growing and growing. In the same time, that's exactly what's good, because you have always someone who is pushing you to the limit.

"We hope that Carlos Alcaraz is coming back, as well, because tennis needs him. Having Novak Djokovic still around, having all the young players coming, it's really, really nice. At the same time, you always need to work hard and have moments like this," he said.

With his second grass court major win, Sinner extended his lead over Alcaraz in their Big Titles battle. This was his 17th ‘Big Title’ – a combination of Grand Slam championships, trophies at the ATP Finals and ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, and Olympic singles gold medals. Alcaraz owns 15 big titles.Sinner earned his first Grand Slam crown since Wimbledon one year ago and his fifth major title overall. The Italian has lifted all of his Slam trophies since the start of the 2024 season. Wimbledon: Jannik Sinner beats Zverev to claim back-to-back titles | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

Read More........ → July 13, 2026

Lisa Ray says midlife is not a crisis but ‘the most important act of a woman’s life’

(Photo : IANS/Lisa Ray/insta)

Mumbai, (IANS) Actress and model Lisa Ray, on Tuesday, opened up about the realities of midlife for women through a reflective post on social media that spoke about ageing, self-worth, and finding inner peace.

The actress shared a post featuring a picture of herself dressed elegantly in a sari. She reflected on how growing older has helped her become more grounded and comfortable with her authentic self.

Sharing the post, Lisa wrote, “What no one tells you about Midlife…

When estrogen drops, so does people-pleasing.

Self-doubt gets quieter.

Peace gets louder.

Standards rise.

Boundaries hold.”

She added, “Midlife: when the hormones exit

and the nonsense goes with them.

Less apologising.

Less auditioning.

More self-worth.

More no.

More peace.

Midlife isn’t a crisis.

It’s the main character energy.

Act Two — and finally, it’s ours.

Call it what it is —

the most important act of a woman’s life.”

The actress has always spoken her heart out over sensitive issues and also on health, ageing, self-acceptance, without mincing words.

On the professional front, Lisa Ray has had a diverse acting career across Indian and international cinema.

She gained prominence with films such as Kasoor and also in critically acclaimed projects including Water, directed by Deepa Mehta.

Over the years, she has worked in Hindi, Tamil, and international productions, and also has appeared in television and digital projects.

On the personal front, Lisa inspired many by putting a brave front against her battle with multiple myeloma, a rare form of blood cancer, in 2009.She had undergone treatment and later announced that she was cancer-free. Lisa Ray says midlife is not a crisis but ‘the most important act of a woman’s life’ | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

Read More........ → March 16, 2026