Spain manager Luis Enrique insisted Sergio Ramos will remain on penalty duties after the Real Madrid captain missed two spot kicks in the 1-1 Nations League draw against Switzerland on Saturday.
Ramos, 34, was playing his 177th match for Spain to break Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon's European appearance record but the historic milestone was somewhat marred by his missed penalties.
The defender truly made his mark on the occasion, ending a remarkable run of scoring 25 consecutive penalties by missing two in the second half while also producing a goalline clearance to prevent Switzerland forward Haris Seferovic making it 2-0.
Ramos could also have scored in open play late in the game only to miss the target, but Gerard Moreno did find an equaliser to avert what would have been a second consecutive Nations League defeat for Spain after last month's 1-0 loss to Ukraine.
But Enrique said Ramos's twin spot-kick misses would not affect his captain.
"Sergio's numbers when it comes to taking penalties are in the reach of few players. If we had got a third penalty or a fourth one he would have taken them as well," he said. "He had scored his last 25, but football has moments like this."
The number one spot-kick taker for Real Madrid and Spain, despite being a defender, Ramos has been imperious from the spot in recent years, with his last miss coming when he hit the crossbar in Madrid's 3-2 defeat by Sevilla in May 2018.
He has confessed to relishing the high-stakes situation of a penalty, scoring a number of crucial spot-kicks in Real's run to the Primera Liga title last season as well as netting from the spot in last month's 3-1 win at Barcelona.
But he finally met his match in Swiss keeper Yann Sommer, who guessed the right way to parry Ramos' first penalty early in the second half and then refused to be fooled by the Spaniard's 'Panenka' routine which has worked so well for him in the past.
"It's a real shame that Ramos missed the penalties because he's usually so good," said Spain forward Dani Olmo.
"But he's very strong mentally and I'm sure that the next time he takes a penalty he'll score."
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
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Rating: 4.5/5
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Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
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Thursday, Nov 9 - 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 11 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Monday, Nov 13 – 2pm, Dubai International Stadium
Thursday, Nov 16 – 2pm, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 18 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
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Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
