Pope's vigil in Portugal draws 1.5 million pilgrims

LISBON, Portugal -- A sea of 1.5 million pilgrims packed a riverside park near Lisbon on Saturday for a vigil held by Pope Francis as part of a global Catholic youth festival.

Worshippers cheered as the 86-year-old pontiff slowly drove by on his "popemobile" to the stage at the Parque Tejo on the outskirts of the Portuguese capital.

"We are the pope's youths!" they chanted as national flags fluttered in the crowd estimated at around 1.5 million people according to the Vatican, citing local officials.

The Argentine pope urged the crowd to "pick themselves up" whenever they suffer a setback in life.

"Those who remain on the ground have retired from life, have lost their hopes and dreams," he added.

Drones formed the words "rise up" and "follow me" in the sky above the stage as the pope spoke.

Many waited for hours under a blazing sun for the start of the vigil, singing, dancing and playing cards to pass the time at the park, which was built for the occasion on a former landfill site.

There was little shade, and worshippers protected themselves from the sun with umbrellas or makeshift tents made from sheets, or tried to cool off by pouring water over their heads.

- 'Powerful moments' -

Portugal's state weather office has put Lisbon on alert for scorching temperatures that reached nearly 36 degrees Celsius (97 Fahrenheit) on Saturday.

Charlotte Bordas, a 26-year-old who came from Mont-de-Marsan in southwestern France, said she was moved to see people from around the world at the event.

"We hear all languages spoken and we see the same joy on people's faces," she told AFP.

"Gathering around the pope and praying together are very powerful moments that give hope and strengthen our personal faith."

The vigil is part of World Youth Day festivities, which is actually a week of religious, cultural and festive events held every three years in a different city.

Santi Salvador, a 19-year-old Spanish student, said he walked to Lisbon from Barcelona to attend the event, a distance of some 1,300 kilometers (800 miles).

"We left 40 days ago... It's a pilgrimage to see the pope," he told AFP.

The leader of the world's 1.3 billion Roman Catholics will deliver a final open-air mass on Sunday morning at the Parque Tejo before returning to Rome.

Many pilgrims who attended Saturday's vigil planned to sleep in the park to be there for the service.

- 'Everyone can enter' -

Earlier Saturday, Francis visited the shrine of Fatima, a revered site north of Lisbon devoted to the Virgin Mary, where he was welcomed by around 200,000 people.

He recited the rosary with sick and disabled youths at the chapel built on the spot where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to three shepherd children in 1917.

In an address to the crowd, the pontiff reinforced calls made many times during his trip for an inclusive Church.

"This little chapel where we find ourselves, is like a beautiful image of the Church, welcoming, without doors," he said in improvised remarks.

"The Church does not have doors, so that everyone can enter," he added to applause from the crowd.

The pope prayed in silence for several minutes before a statue of the Virgin Mary in the chapel.

In a text published later on Twitter, recently rebranded as X, the pontiff said he had prayed for the "church and the world, especially for countries at war".

The pontiff, who now uses a wheelchair or walking stick to get around, arrived in Portugal on Wednesday for the World Youth Day jamboree.

World Youth Day, created in 1986 by John Paul II, is the largest Catholic gathering in the world and features a wide range of events, including concerts and prayer sessions.

This edition, initially scheduled for August 2022 but postponed because of the Covid pandemic, will be the fourth for Francis after Rio de Janeiro in 2013, Krakow in 2016 and Panama in 2019.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Portugal win in Euro 2024 qualifying as Scotland stun Haaland's Norway

PARIS, France -- Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Portugal won in Euro 2024 qualifying on Saturday after Scotland produced a stunning late comeback to beat Erling Haaland's Norway in Oslo.

Portugal defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0 in Lisbon to make it three wins out of three in Group J, with Manchester City star Bernardo Silva opening the scoring a minute before half-time.

Fernandes headed in the second from a Ruben Neves cross in the 77th minute and scored his second, and Portugal's third, in added time.

Cristiano Ronaldo wore the captain's armband and played all 90 minutes as the 38-year-old men's international appearance record-holder won his 199th cap.

However, the forward now playing for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia did not manage to add to his record 122 international goals -- he found the net with a header midway through the first half only to be denied by an offside flag.

Portugal, who visit Iceland on Tuesday, are top of Group J with nine points out of a possible nine having scored 13 goals and conceded none.

They are two points clear of Slovakia, who beat Iceland 2-1 in Reykjavik with Tomas Suslov unwittingly scoring the winner 20 minutes from time after an Alfred Finnbogason penalty for the hosts cancelled out Juraj Kucka's opener.

Luxembourg beat Liechtenstein 2-0 in the same six-team group, from which the top two sides qualify for the finals in Germany.

Scotland have three wins out of three in Group A after following a famous victory over Spain in March by coming from behind late on to beat Norway 2-1 on Saturday.

It looked as if Norway would get their first win of the campaign after Erling Haaland was fouled in the box on the hour mark by Ryan Porteous and converted the resulting penalty.

It was Haaland's 22 goal in 24 games for Norway, and he was taken off six minutes from time by coach Stale Solbakken with the job seemingly done.

But then Scotland equalised in the 87th minute when Leo Ostigard failed to deal with a John McGinn pass, allowing Lyndon Dykes to stab home.

And Scotland were not finished as they snatched the winner with a minute left, McGinn and Dykes combining to set up Norwich City's Kenny McLean to slot in, leaving Norway with just one point from three outings.

- Lukaku rescues Belgium -

Scotland, who went 23 years without appearing at any major tournament before going to Euro 2020, are now in a fantastic position on top of Group A, five points clear of Georgia and six ahead of Nations League finalists Spain.

They have played a game more than both of those sides, however, and welcome Georgia to Glasgow on Tuesday.

"Sometimes when it's your moment you just have to ride the wave. The boys believe in themselves and kept going," said Scotland boss Steve Clarke.

Georgia, coached by ex-France international Willy Sagnol, won 2-1 in Cyprus with Zuriko Davitashvili scoring the decisive goal late on.

That was after Georges Mikautadze's opener was cancelled out by a penalty from Ioannis Pittas for Cyprus.

Belgium were held to a 1-1 draw by Austria in Brussels, with captain Romelu Lukaku turning and firing in from the edge of the box just after the hour mark for the hosts.

They had been trailing after Orel Mangala deflected a shot past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and into his own net.

"After the first goal we saw the heads go down, which is something we need to learn from because this team is young," said Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco. "But in the end, I honestly saw good things as well."

Eden Hazard, the former Belgium captain who quit international football after the World Cup, attended the match and did a lap of honour around the stadium at half-time.

Belgium are three points behind group leaders Austria but have a game in hand. They are back in action on Tuesday in Estonia, who drew 1-1 with Azerbaijan on Saturday.

In other action, the Czech Republic cemented their position at the top of Group E after a 3-0 win in the Faroe Islands in which Vaclav Cerny scored twice.

Agence France-Presse

Ronaldo denied as Portugal held by Spain

Cristiano Ronaldo hit the crossbar as Portugal and Spain played out a goalless draw in a compelling friendly in Lisbon on Wednesday.

Ronaldo and Renato Sanchez both struck the woodwork for Portugal, who then should have won it in injury-time only for Joao Felix to miskick at the back post.

Spain was the better team early on at the Jose Alvalade stadium and also went close through Dani Olmo but neither side was able to claim victory ahead of upcoming games in the Nations League.

“I think we were better than Portugal,” said Spain coach Luis Enrique. “We dominated the game. For sure they had two shots on the break that hit the bar and one that Kepa saved but we had chances as well.”

Both sit top of their Nations League groups, Portugal with maximum points after beating Croatia and Sweden while Spain has four after thrashing Ukraine and drawing with Germany.

Spain goes up against Switzerland on Saturday before playing against Ukraine three days later. Portugal face world champions France on Sunday and then play at home to Sweden.

During the first half, it was also announced by the football federations of the two countries they will stage a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup.

They will be competing against Morocco, as well as another joint bid from Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile.

The last time Spain and Portugal met was for the thrilling 3-3 draw at the 2018 World Cup, when Ronaldo scored a hat-trick, including a stunning late equalizer from a free-kick.

This was a far less dramatic contest, with both teams still rebuilding ahead of next year’s postponed European Championships.

It was the first time Spain had failed to score since losing to Italy at the 2016 European Championships in France.

Luis Enrique fielded an experimental eleven, which included Chelsea’s struggling goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, Manchester City’s 19-year-old central defender Eric Garcia and the newly called-up Sergio Canales in midfield.

For Portugal, the 20-year-old Francisco Trincao, who has just joined Barcelona, started in a front three with Ronaldo and Andre Silva.

Spain enjoyed a superb opening quarter of an hour but had nothing to show for it, as Gerard Moreno missed from close range and Olmo volleyed wide.

Portugal went closest in the second half. Ronaldo shifted onto his left foot and thundered a shot against the crossbar. He then turned provider, curving a pass right to Renato, whose effort also crashed against the frame and bounced out.

The best chance though fell to Felix in injury-time, the ball finding him free at the back post, only for the youngster to slide and somehow fail to connect.

Agence France-Presse 

Ronaldo still very much part of Portugal team, insists coach

Portugal coach Fernando Santos insisted Saturday that superstar Cristiano Ronaldo remains a key part of his national team despite being left out of his Nations League squad, after the European champions became the first team to advance to the semi-finals of the competition.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner spent much of last month vehemently denying allegations of rape and was dropped by Santos for the Nations League internationals amid accusations by former model Kathryn Mayorga that Ronaldo raped her in 2009, just before he joined Real Madrid from Manchester United.


“There are no questions to ask. Ronaldo is part of this team, just read the post he wrote today,” said Santos, referring to the message the Juventus player sent to wish his teammates good luck via Twitter.

Portugal booked their ticket to the semi-finals next June after holding Italy to a 0-0 draw at the San Siro on Saturday.

They progressed top of Group A3 with one match to play, dashing Italy’s hopes in the process.

“The qualification confirms the quality of our football,” said Santos.

“I thought it would be a great match and instead especially in the first half we had a lot of difficulties.

“After the break I explained to them what was happening, and the game became more balanced.”

Portugal host relegated Poland in three days in Guimaraes, in a match that has no significance for either side.

But Santos insisted: “The final match against Poland will be important because it will be on front of our public, who are always with us.

“We have to play well and to win.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Ronaldo, Portugal await World Cup playoff draw

ZURICH — Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal will find out Monday who they must beat in a playoff to reach the World Cup in Brazil.

France and Franck Ribery would be the toughest possible test for the Portuguese as the in-form and highest-ranked of four unseeded nations in the draw at FIFA.

Portugal, No. 14 in FIFA’s monthly world standings, is seeded with Greece (No. 15), Croatia (No. 18) and Ukraine (No. 20), which is one spot ahead of the French after the qualifying groups finished last week.



France (No. 21) is unseeded with Sweden (No. 25), Romania (No. 29) and Iceland (No. 46).

Two-legged playoffs are scheduled for Nov. 15 and 19.

The four winners complete Europe’s 13-strong entry in the 32-team World Cup draw on December 6.

source: sports.inquirer.net