PORTO: Portugal crushed Armenia 9-1 without suspended talisman Cristiano Ronaldo to clinch qualification for the 2026 World Cup finals on Sunday.&nbsp;Manchester United&#39;s Bruno Fernandes and Paris Saint-Germain&#39;s Joao Neves both scored hat-tricks as Roberto Martinez&#39;s side racked up a huge win in Porto to top Group F.&nbsp;Renato Veiga got the ball rolling for Portugal, with Goncalo Ramos and Francisco Conceicao also on the scoresheet.&nbsp;After a draw in Hungary in October and a surprise defeat at Ireland on Thursday in which Ronaldo was sent off, Portugal wrapped up qualification at the third attempt in their final group match.&nbsp;They will compete in a seventh consecutive edition of the World Cup, a tournament which the Euro 2016 champions are yet to win.&nbsp;With Manchester United midfielder Fernandes playing a key role throughout, Portugal made a quick start by scoring in the seventh minute.&nbsp;Fernandes&#39;s vicious inswinging free-kick from just outside the left side of the box was pushed onto the post by goalkeeper Henri Avagyan but Veiga was on hand to head home the rebound.&nbsp;The visitors shocked the hosts by scoring on their first attack to equalise, with Grant-Leon Ranos crossing for Armenia captain Eduard Spertsyan to strike.&nbsp;However Portugal quickly stepped up a gear and racked up an unassailable lead. Paris Saint-Germain striker Ramos intercepted a back pass and squeezed home his country&#39;s second after rounding Avagyan.&nbsp;Portugal put together a tidy move for their third, with Neves blasting home from the edge of the box after being teed up by Fernandes.&nbsp;Neves netted a spectacular second with a free-kick which flew into the top right corner, leaving Avagyan with no chance.&nbsp;Fernandes netted the fifth in first half stoppage time with a low penalty after Ruben Dias was fouled.&nbsp;The Manchester United midfielder continued where he left off after the break, slotting home his second after being fed by Ramos.&nbsp;Fernandes completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after debutant substitute Carlos Forbs was felled.&nbsp;Neves followed suit for Portugal&#39;s eighth goal, smashing home after Veiga headed Fernandes&#39;s cross into his path.&nbsp;Juventus forward Conceicao added the ninth in stoppage time to seal one of his country&#39;s biggest ever victories.&nbsp;Ireland stunned Hungary with a late winner to triumph 3-2 in the other Group F match and reach the play-offs, with Troy Parrott following up his midweek brace against Portugal with a hat-trick.

Football

Portugal qualified for the 2026 World Cup by thrashing Armenia 9-1 without Cristiano Ronaldo, with Bruno Fernandes and Joao Neves scoring hat-tricks. The win secured Group F top spot and continued Portugal’s World Cup streak.

Portugal qualify for 2026 World Cup by thrashing Armenia

LISBON: Microsoft said Tuesday it intends to invest $10 billion from early next year in a mega data centre in Portugal dedicated to developing artificial intelligence infrastructure.&nbsp;The project, in partnership with British firm Nscale, which specialises in AI data centres, and with Start Campus, which has begun construction of a major data centre near the southern port of Sines, will see Microsoft install 12,600 of Nvidia&#39;s latest-generation chips.&nbsp;The company in a statement termed the scheme &quot;one of the largest investments in AI computing capacity in Europe&quot;.&nbsp;In an interview with the Portuguese business daily Jornal de Negocios, Microsoft President Brad Smith said Portugal has emerged as a key European destination for data centre construction and investment.&nbsp;Smith is currently in Lisbon for the Web Summit, a key annual event in the hi-tech calendar, dubbed &quot;Davos for geeks&quot;.&nbsp;In addition to a data centre powered by renewable energy, the Sines site has the advantage of being a link point for important submarine telecommunications cables linking the Americas to Europe.&nbsp;Regarding data centres, &quot;demand in the AI field, particularly over the last five months, has become quite crazy,&quot; Nscale&#39;s product director, Daniel Bathurst, told AFP.&nbsp;For a player like Microsoft, &quot;it&#39;s a race against time,&quot; he added.&nbsp;&quot;We have the expertise, we have access to the energy, and we can implement this for them on time,&quot; he added in an interview on the sidelines of the Web Summit.

Artificial Intelligence

Microsoft will invest $10 billion in a mega AI data centre in Portugal’s Sines, partnering with Nscale and Start Campus. The site, powered by renewable energy, will host 12,600 Nvidia chips, meeting surging AI demand.

Microsoft says to invest $10 bn in Portugal AI data centre

LONDON: Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed he plans to retire &quot;soon&quot; as the Portugal and Al Nassr star prepares for a tearful end to his glittering career.&nbsp;Ronaldo discussed his thoughts on retirement and his life after football in an interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored.&nbsp;The 40-year-old, who has scored a remarkable 952 goals, is one of the most decorated players in the history of the game, but the end is in sight for his astonishing career.&nbsp;Asked when he would consider hanging up his boots, Ronaldo, who is under contract with Al Nassr until 2027, replied: &quot;Soon. But I think I will be prepared.&nbsp;&quot;It will be tough, of course. It will be difficult? Yes. Probably will cry, yes. I&#39;m an open person. It will be very, very difficult, yes.&nbsp;&quot;But Piers, I prepare my future since 25, 26, 27 years old, I prepare my future. So, I think I will be capable to support that pressure.&quot;&nbsp;Ronaldo is confident he will be able to cope without football because he wants to focus on his family and his off the pitch interests.&nbsp;&quot;Nothing will be able to compare that the adrenaline that we have for football to score a goal,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;But everything has a beginning, and everything has an end. I have other passions. I&#39;m going to have more time for me, I&#39;m going to have more time for my family to raise my kids.&nbsp;&quot;I want to follow Cristiano Junior because he&#39;s at an age when kids do stupid things. I was the same. Mateo loves football as well.&nbsp;&quot;I want to do more fun things. I love playing Padel with my closest friends. We are getting quite good.&quot;&nbsp;After starting his career with Sporting Lisbon, Ronaldo enjoyed successful spells at Manchester United and Real Madrid, Juventus.&nbsp;He won three Premier League titles and the Champions League among other trophies in his first stint in Manchester.&nbsp;Ronaldo joined Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr after leaving United for a second time in 2022.&nbsp;

Cristiano Ronaldo, 40, said he will retire soon and is preparing for life after football. He plans to spend more time with his family, follow his children’s interests, and enjoy hobbies like playing padel.


Ronaldo reveals emotional retirement will come 'soon'

LONDON: Britain and Portugal were expected to recognize a Palestinian state on Sunday, ahead of a key week at the UN&#39;s gathering where a suite of nations are set to do the same to pressure Israel over Gaza.&nbsp;A growing number of longtime Israeli allies have shifted positions in recent months as Israel has intensified its Gaza offensive.&nbsp;The besieged Palestinian territory has suffered vast destruction, death and lack of food that have resulted in a major humanitarian crisis.&nbsp;World leaders will gather for a key debate at the UN General Assembly in New York this week, where the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be front and center.&nbsp;Around 10 nations are expected to recognize a Palestinian state in the coming days, with UK media outlets like the BBC reporting that Prime Minister Keir Starmer would announce the policy shift on Sunday -- over fierce Israeli objection.&nbsp;Starmer had said in July that Britain would formally recognize the State of Palestine if Israel did not take &quot;substantive steps&quot; towards a ceasefire with Hamas by the time the UN General Assembly convened.&nbsp;The Labour leader said at the time that the move would make &quot;a contribution to a proper peace process, at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution.&quot;&nbsp;In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused him of rewarding &quot;monstrous terrorism&quot; and appeasing &quot;jihadist&quot; ideology.&nbsp;Israel opposedPortugal&#39;s foreign ministry said on Friday that it would also formally declare its recognition on Sunday.&nbsp;Lisbon had already announced in July that it intended to do so, citing the &quot;extremely worrying evolution of the conflict&quot; as well as the humanitarian crisis and Israel&#39;s repeated threats to annex Palestinian land.&nbsp;Since then, Israel has bombarded Gaza, a UN-backed hunger monitor has declared a famine in part of the territory, and the Israeli military has said it will use &quot;unprecedented force&quot; to capture Gaza City.&nbsp;France and Canada are among the other Western nations planning to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN gathering in the coming week.&nbsp;Israel has vehemently opposed the moves and has reportedly threatened to annex the West Bank in response.&nbsp;UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told AFP on Friday that the world &quot;should not feel intimidated by the risk of retaliation&quot; from Israel.&nbsp;Israel&#39;s military campaign has killed at least 65,208 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Gazan health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

Middle East

France and Canada are among the other Western nations planning to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN gathering in the coming week.

UK, Portugal to recognize Palestinian state ahead of UN debate

Reuters

LISBON: Portugal will recognize a Palestinian state on Sunday, the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday.The Official Declaration of Recognition will take place even before next week&#39;s High-Level Conference, it added.Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel already said this week that the country was considering the recognition of a Palestinian state during a visit to the UK.Unlike neighboring Spain, whose government recognized Palestinian statehood in May 2024 alongside Ireland and Norway and called on other EU countries to do the same, Portugal has taken a more cautious approach, saying it wanted to work out a common position with other EU countries first.Outcry against IsraelOnly a handful of the 27 European Union members recognise Palestine as a State, mostly former Communist countries as well as Sweden and Cyprus.The U.N. General Assembly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine in November 2012 by upgrading its observer status at the world body to &quot;non-member state&quot; from &quot;entity&quot;.Israel is facing a growing global outcry, given that its war against Hamas in Gaza is causing many deaths, starvation and devastation.

Europe

Portugal will officially recognize a Palestinian state on Sunday, ahead of a High-Level Conference, marking a cautious shift compared to other EU countries, amid ongoing conflict and international pressure on Israel.

Articles tagged with "Portugal"

Portugal qualify for 2026 World Cup by thrashing Armenia

Microsoft says to invest $10 bn in Portugal AI data centre

Ronaldo reveals emotional retirement will come 'soon'

UK, Portugal to recognize Palestinian state ahead of UN debate

Portugal says it will recognize Palestinian state on Sunday