Sports
What Cristiano Ronaldo Told Croatia Star After Controversy in World Cup Game
Petar Sucic has revealed what Cristiano Ronaldo told him after Croatia were knocked out of the World Cup by Portugal in controversial circumstances on Thursday evening.
Croatia went into the match as underdogs but took the lead shortly after the half-time break when Ivan Perisic opened the scoring.
Ronaldo restored parity with 22 minutes remaining as he made no mistake from the penalty spot, before Goncalo Ramos gave Portugal the lead in stoppage-time.
Croatia thought they had equalised in the final seconds of the match when Josko Gvardiol found the net from close range. However, the goal was chalked off by VAR due to a controversial offside call.
FIFA have since released a statement explaining why the goal was chalked off.
Inter Milan midfielder Petar Sucic was not happy at all with the decision to disallow the goal. He said after the match, per the BBC:
“The referee told us he didn’t see our striker touch the ball. He said that the sensor in the ball said it did. It’s really difficult to explain, but we expect an explanation. What I saw is that Matanovic didn’t touch the ball. Today is like that, luck was on their side.”
A devastated Sucic was comforted by Ronaldo at full-time. The 22-year-old revealed exactly what the legendary forward said to him during their embrace. He said, per the Mirror:
“Honestly, I was very shaken. But he told me that this is football, that there will be difficult moments in football, but that I am great, to keep going and that things will get better in the future.”
He added: “I feel empty, but proud of the team, how we played, especially the second half.
“We deserved a lot more, at least extra time in the end because we really played well and had a lot of chances. The goalkeeper defended well, they disallowed three of our goals, I would like someone to explain some of the referee’s decisions to me.
“There were too many situations that were questionable and went against us. In the end, we have to congratulate Portugal on getting through.”
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Cristiano Ronaldo Speaks Out On Future
Ahead of the match, Ronaldo’s sister, Katia Aveiro, revealed that he would retire from international football following the tournament.
Addressing those rumours after the game, the 41-year-old said, per AS: “Cristiano’s future is not important right now. I’ll talk about it… I’ll have time. After we win or lose, I’ll speak with my family and then make the best decision. I don’t make decisions in the heat of the moment anymore. Everything is done calmly now. Right now it’s about enjoying the present.”
On the game against Croatia, he said: “Today we had to know how to suffer. To win a competition of this magnitude, you have to know how to suffer. It was a very entertaining match for the fans.
“We controlled the game quite well in the first half, but the second half was much more chaotic. They scored, we got a little nervous, but the emotional turning point came when we converted the penalty.
“From then on, the game became easier. We still had some difficulties, but that’s what this competition is all about, and we have to keep moving forward.”
Portugal will face Spain on Monday, July 6 for a place in the quarter-final.
Estadio Azteca, temporarily renamed Mexico City Stadium for the 2026 World Cup, sits well over 2,000 metres above sea level in the district of Southern Mexico City. It plays host to the Mexico National team as well as Liga MX side Club America.
Estadio Azteca is the highest stadium of all 16 venues used at the 2026 World Cup by a wide margin, and one of the most storied grounds in football history, having hosted three separate World Cups, a feat that no other stadium can claim.
So, what is the altitude of the stadium and what are the effects? GIVEMESPORT takes a look.
What is the Altitude of Estadio Azteca?
|
Stadium: |
Estadio Azteca |
|---|---|
|
City: |
Mexico City, Mexico |
|
Capacity: |
87,523 |
|
Altitude: |
2,200m (7,218ft) |
|
Map: |
Estadio Azteca sits at 2,200 metres (7,218 ft) above sea level, which makes it the highest altitude stadium in North America.
How Does the Azteca Compare to Other Stadiums?
© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Azteca is high by 2026 World Cup standards, but modest next to South America’s true altitude giants, several of which sit above FIFA’s old 2,500m threshold for international matches.
The highest altitude stadium in the world is Peru’s Estadio Daniel Alcides Carrion, which sits an incredibls 4,338m above sea level, nearly twice as high as the Azteca.
You can see a list of some of the highest stadiums below for comparison.
|
Stadium |
City/Country |
Altitude |
|---|---|---|
|
Estadio Daniel Alcides Carrion |
Cerro de Pasco, Peru |
4,338m (14,232ft) |
|
El Alto Municipal (Villa Ingenio) |
El Alto, Bolivia |
4,088m (13,410ft) |
|
Estadio Hernando Siles |
La Paz, Bolivia |
3,600m (11,800ft) |
|
Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa |
Quito, Ecuador |
2,850m (9,350ft) |
|
El Campin |
Bogota, Colombia |
2,550m (8,370ft) |
|
Estadio Azteca |
Mexico City, Mexico |
2,200m (7,200ft) |
Why FIFA Has Different Names for World Cup Stadiums
Eagle-eyed fans may be confused as to why there are different names for the World Cup arenas than usual – the answer is frighteningly simple.
Does Altitude Give Mexico an Advantage?
The short answer is yes, it’s a very big advantage. The national team have lost just twice in 89 competitive matches at the stadium, and has gone unbeaten there for well over a decade — a record few nations can touch on home soil anywhere in the world.
As per The Guardian, Mexican football commissioner Mikel Arriola: “We have a massive advantage because we’re playing at the Estadio Azteca with our fans and the altitude. It is a very potent setting.”
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Thinner air at 2,200m means less resistance on the ball, so it travels faster and dips less than at sea level – a wrinkle that can catch out goalkeepers and defenders unfamiliar with the conditions.
More significantly, it means less oxygen in every breath, which hits visiting players hardest in the legs and lungs: heart rates climb quicker, sprints are harder to repeat, and pressing intensity drops off as the game wears on — exactly the kind of high-tempo football most European and South American sides are built to play.
There’s no quick fix for it either, with sports scientists generally agreeing that two to three weeks at altitude is needed to meaningfully boost red blood cell production and oxygen-carrying capacity — a luxury a tight tournament schedule doesn’t allow.
Some squads, like South Korea, base themselves in elevated cities to adapt to the conditions, whilst teams like Colombia arrive with a natural edge from training at similar altitude levels back home. But those flying in directly from sea level are faced with a rough opening half, and are advised to hydrate heavily and avoid overexertion in their first 24 hours in the city.
What Have Players and Coaches Said?
The altitude conversation resurfaces every time a lowland side draws Mexico, and the 2026 World was no exception.
Ahead of facing Mexico in the Round of 16 at the Azteca, England manager Thomas Tuchel told the BBC: “The altitude will be a big disadvantage because we cannot physically adapt to it. And in four days, it’s just impossible. More obstacles may come, we are ready for that.”
My understanding is that we cannot adapt to the altitude. That is just a huge advantage that Mexico will have. We have only three days in between these matches. Its physically just not possible to adapt to the altitude, which is quite high.”
Former West Ham midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker is one of few English players to have played at the Azteca stadium, and is fully aware of the challenges sides face, saying:
“It’s the most physically demanding place I have ever played football. To come from Europe and play in that altitude is so difficult. You cannot catch your breath. The first 45 to 55 minutes, you’re just trying to keep breathing.”
Senior Research Fellow at Leeds Beckett University, Dr Barney Wainwright, also told the BBC: “Maximum aerobic capacity at this kind of altitude usually drops around 10%, and that has a knock-on to performance. There will usually be a 15–20% increase in fatigue. For the distance it’s possible to cover, we would expect that to drop by 5-10%.
“Maximum sprint speeds won’t be affected, but players will need to wait a bit longer to recover from each one and go again. England might want to slow things down more to allow players time to recover between bouts of high-intensity play.”
Whether it is the intense home atmosphere, Mexico’s quality, the high altitude, or a combination of the three. One thing for certain is that the Azteca Stadium is one of the most difficult environments in world football, with visiting sides at a disadvantage before a ball has been kicked.
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Behind-the-scenes footage has emerged from the UFC‘s historic Freedom 250 card at the White House, revealing the one thing that President Donald Trump hated about the event.
Headlined by the UFC Lightweight Championship unification fight between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, the show was commissioned as a joint celebration of both the 250th anniversary and Trump’s 80th birthday. It even took place on June 14th, the day the President was born.
However, while Trump loved the show overall, calling it one of “the greatest ever” afterwards, there was one element of the event he really wasn’t happy with.
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With the fights taking place on the South Lawn of the White House, space was always going to be limited. Trump, though, seemingly wasn’t fully on board with the reality of just how limited the numbers would be.
In footage shot before the event, Trump told a crowd of reporters: “We’ll have an arena of 8,000 [people]” watching the event live.
Wanting somebody to back up that number, the President bellowed: “Where are the UFC people?”
When UFC Executive Producer Craig Borsari made himself known to Trump, he had some bad news to share with the controversial politician.
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Telling Trump he could have less than a third of his desired attendance, Borsari noted:
“Right now, the current infrastructure that we have is only about 2,500 [people].”
Trump couldn’t hide his frustration at the number as he fumed: “That’s terrible!”
Sensing the President’s anger, Borsari reasoned: “But, we can go a level up, and start to get into the 3,500 range?” If he had hoped to fully satisfy Trump with the extra 1,000 seats, it didn’t work.
“Oh, but you say you’re not talking about the six or seven thousand,” he replied in an annoyed tone.
Trump later voiced his own ideas for expanding the capacity of the event. In a sit-down interview, he stated:
“My concept was right, smack at the front door of The White House. Build it as big as you can. You know we’re a little confined because of trees and these beautiful plantings and everything else, so not easy.”
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Trump appeared to give Borsari full permission to do whatever he saw fit to make the request a reality.
“You can build it as big as you want, there’s no problem.”
In reality, on fight night, Borsari managed to make room for an estimated 4,300 attendees. No tickets were sold to the public, with the majority of those in attendance being either invited guests or military personnel.
Trump may not have got his way in terms of a larger attendance at the White House itself, but the company did manage to accomodate 80,000 spectators at the Elipse in the shadow of the venue.
As impressive as that number is, though, it’s clearly not quite what Trump really wanted.
Tottenham Hotspur have been incredibly active in the transfer window so far this summer, but they have now pulled the plug on one deal according to Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg.
Spurs have already brought in Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka on free transfers, while they also signed Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton and broke their club-record to sign Mateus Fernandes from West Ham in an £85m deal.
The club also agreed a £100m deal to sign Newcastle star Sandro Tonali this week, cementing their ambitions to climb up the table after back-to-back 17th-placed finishes in the Premier League, but they have now backed out of a deal for another signing.
Tottenham Pull Out of Move to Sign Palhinha
Tottenham are pushing to strengthen their squad, and new manager Roberto De Zerbi had previously stated that he wanted the club to retain Portugal international Joao Palhinha as part of the squad following his loan spell in 2025/26.
The holding midfielder was described as ‘one of the best’ by the Italian coach, and had made a return to north London his priority for this window despite having agreed terms with Sporting CP over a potential move, with Bayern Munich desperate to cash in on a permanent deal.
But after completing a deal for Fernandes and agreeing terms over a move for Tonali, Spurs have now pulled the plug on any return.
“Joao Palhinha is set to return to FC Bayern for now,” Plettenberg wrote. “The Tottenham deal is now 100% off following the signings of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes.
“A possible move to Sporting is also complicated due to Bayern’s asking price. There are further interested clubs. Talks are ongoing.”
Tottenham Make Right Decision
Palhinha proved what everyone already knew last season with his performances. The 30-year-old is a strong defensive player, who covers ground well, but has limitations with his passing.
The fact that he scored the goals that ultimately kept Spurs in the Premier League may have made the sentiment of keeping him at the club difficult to ignore, but ultimately they have signed major upgrades on him now, and it makes sense to let him leave.
With Tonali and Fernandes joining the likes of Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Pape Matar Sarr in the squad, there is no space for Palhinha and it makes sense to put that money towards strengthening other areas of the squad instead.
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