Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo said he hoped he would cry tears of joy at Sunday's Euro 2016 final after his goal inspired his team to a 2-0 semi-final win over Wales.
The Real Madrid superstar scored a brilliant 50th-minute header in Lyon on Wednesday and then teed Nani up for a quick-fire second goal as Portugal qualified for the final against Germany or France.
“The team did a marvellous job to reach the final. I hope on Sunday you’ll see me crying with joy,” said Ronaldo, who as a 19-year-old wept on the pitch after Portugal lost 1-0 to Greece as hosts of Euro 2004.
“I always said I wanted to win something with Portugal. I’ve been at the highest level for 13 years. The statistics never lie.”
More Portugal
• Ian Hawkey: Portugal get menacing Cristiano Ronaldo they needed
• In pictures: Cristiano Ronaldo, with help from Nani, wins Real Madrid battle
Ronaldo’s goal, his third at the tournament, saw him tie France great Michel Platini’s record of nine goals at European Championship finals.
He now trails tournament top scorer Antoine Griezmann of France by one goal.
Meanwhile, Nani hailed what he called a “historic” night as Portugal reached the final.
“We worked very hard and now we have a final to play.
"I feel so proud. I can't explain the emotions that have overcome me," said the 29-year-old who has just completed a move to Spanish side Valencia.
“We are going to live the moment which is historic for the country,” he added.
“I scored the goal through instinct. I couldn’t even prepare the way I wanted to celebrate the goal but I want to dedicate it to my family who were in the stands.”
Portugal must now wait to see who wins Thursday’s second semi-final between France and Germany but Nani said he had no preference for the opponent in the final.
“We have to concentrate only on ourselves and just do our best,” he said.
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Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
WHAT%20IS%20THE%20LICENSING%20PROCESS%20FOR%20VARA%3F
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
The specs
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
