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PORTUGAL tasted Nations League glory for a second time with Cristiano Ronaldo playing a starring role – and Chelsea flop Alvaro Morata the villain.

After winning the inaugural 2019 edition, Roberto Martinez’s men are champions once more in a thrilling finale in Munich, fighting back twice to draw level against reigning European champions Spain.

Ronaldo netted an ingenious equalising 61st minute volley to make it 2-2 for his 938th career goal and 138th for his country – but the 40-year-old watched the penalties from the bench, along with 17-year-old teenage superstar Lamine Yamal.

And Spain’s Morata missed his spot-kick for Ruben Neves to slot home the winner.

Both nations were vying to become the first to lift the Nations League twice.

A slow start was thrust into life by a Nico Williams whipped curler that just cleared the bar after 17 minutes – and four minutes later the Spaniards were ahead.

Yamal at the heart of it, his delicious cross was made a mess of by a scrambling Portugal defence, allowing soon-to-be Arsenal midfielder Martin Zubimendi to score just his second international goal.

Spain were 4-0 up after 55 minutes in their 5-4 semi thriller against France last week, but Ronaldo was not about to let that happen again as he burst in behind to spark an attack.

It ended with Mendes firing low into the bottom corner in the 26th minute, but not before a VAR check that judged Ronaldo to have timed his run to perfection.

The final say of the first half was Spain’s. Pedri with a superb reverse pass to tee up Mikel Oyarzabal in injury time – the man who broke English hearts in the Euros final in Berlin last summer producing another big goal in Munich.

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Martinez responded by bringing on Neves and Nelson Semedo at the break, and it almost had an instant impact as Bruno Fernandes had a 49th minute strike ruled out for offside.

An equaliser was coming and Ronaldo reacted first to a deflected looped cross that bamboozled Marc Cucurella for his eighth Nations League of the campaign.

He hobbled off with a muscular injury in the 88th minute, while Yamal was subbed in the 106th minute, as the game became niggly with a VAR red-check following a mass melee.

Goncalo Ramos, Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes and Nuno Mendes all slotted home their penalties before Neves became the hero.

EVERY single day, every ­single penny paid in tax by enough workers to fill a city the size of Manchester goes toward just one thing.

Some 582,000 folk, including nurses, teachers, builders, ­drivers and shop workers, all striving and ­contributing their fair share for one goal . . . 

AFP

How can Rachel Reeves preach fiscal responsibility while chucking such vast amounts of cash out the door?[/caption]

Their entire income tax and National Insurance contributions hoovered up by the same mind-boggling government bill.

They are paying to keep migrants in hotels, often rather nice ones.

The National Audit Office puts the bill for asylum accommodation and support last year at an eye-watering £4.7billion.

And that’s before healthcare costs and the price of the thousands of ­officials processing claims are factored in.

Now, new analysis by former Office for National Statistics numbers man Jamie Jenkins reveals who is picking up the tab.

‘Deeply concerned’

The mean average salary across all UK workers was £38,224 last year, generating an estimated £8,081 in tax per head.

Divide the hotel and support bill by that and you get 582,000 workers — almost exactly the population of the City of Manchester.

Or just over the size of ­Liverpool. Or bigger than Leicester or Leeds.

Last Tuesday, Home ­Secretary Yvette Cooper told MPs she was “deeply concerned about the level of money” being spent on hotels, adding: “We need to end asylum hotels ­altogether.”

But by the end of the week, her own department quietly admitted they are diverting another £2.2billion of money earmarked for overseas development assistance cash for hotels this year.

That’s basically the same amount as last year, despite shameless ministers sent out to insist on the airwaves that hotel use is falling and this Government has got a grip.

And the numbers blow away claims from politicians of all hues that we need a period of belt-tightening, with hard ­choices to be made.

Fair-minded voters — who believe in so-called sound money, restraint, spending within our means or whatever you want to call it — have every right to look upon this aghast.

And where the public might have had some sympathy over tough choices needing to be addressed, that argument is holed below the waterline by the seemingly endless magic money tree available for new arrivals to be housed while our veterans sleep on the streets.

Why can’t we spend more on our defence sooner rather than later, when we clearly have billions to spend on this?

Harry

The screeching U-turn on slashing Winter Fuel Payments is a case in point, after Labour MPs were hammered on the doorstep while campaigning in last month’s local elections.

Voters who were sympathetic towards the two-child benefit cap a few years ago are now looking — through the prism of asylum hotels — at a state that is willing to pay such sums towards foreign arrivals, rather than on hungry British kids.

Billions to spend

And why can’t we spend more on our defence sooner rather than later, when we clearly have billions to spend on this?

Which puts a deeply unpopular and struggling Government in something of a bind.

How can Rachel Reeves preach fiscal responsibility while chucking such vast amounts of cash out the door?

As the Chancellor’s negotiations with Cabinet ministers ahead of Wednesday’s Spending Review go to the wire, it’s going to be a very hard sell that police and crime budgets need to be cut in the same department that is bleeding out cash on migrant hotels.

But the Home Office will see a reduction in their share of the pie, with Reeves playing hardball.

And while she will heavily play up this week that there will be no return to “austerity”, with some eye-catching investment announcements across the country in a bid to buy off angry voters eyeing up Reform, her fundamental problems have not changed.

Reeves’ attempts to cut the benefits bill are being met with fierce opposition from Labour MPs

Harry

The Chancellor has Labour MPs on one side demanding more cash in their areas, ­alongside furious Cabinet colleagues fighting cuts to their departments, while on the other side, the international bond markets, which keep the spending merry-go-around going, are looking at the numbers with deep suspicion.

Looking wobbly

Reeves’ attempts to cut the benefits bill are being met with fierce opposition from Labour MPs, armed with this very argument: Why should disabled constituents see their support cut while billions are handed to young men who have come here after passing through numerous safe countries?

The self-proclaimed Iron Chancellor was looking wobbly already after a series of U-turns, but if she is agreeing to billions more for the NHS and our Armed Forces, cuts are going to have to come from somewhere . . . and soon.

Her allies insist there will be some iron on Wednesday, yet until the Government fixes the hotels mess, I’m not sure they will receive much sympathy or praise from a furious public that sees the current priorities as completely bonkers.

And heaven knows how high Reform’s polling lead will be if the Chancellor decides tax hikes in the autumn to pay for this crazy spending are the right way forward.

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THE row over trans people using women’s loos rumbles on after the Supreme Court ruling of the bleedin’ obvious: that there are only two sexes and women’s spaces need protecting.

That argument can be found in depth elsewhere, but more and more public places are making all their toilets gender-neutral.

Without going full Alan Partridge, that is having a major side-effect . . . queues.

Unlike the ladies, I can’t remember having to queue for the gents in a cafe, bar, club or theatre ever. Now it’s endless.

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WE have all sent an angry message then regretted it the next morning – well, I certainly have.

But fair cop to Reform’s former chairman Zia Yusuf, who spectacularly stormed out of Nigel Farage’s party on Thursday night after furious backroom bust-ups.

He’s now back in a different role, having made up his differences behind the scenes.

Cue much social media mockery and crowing from Reform’s online enemies that the rag-tag bunch of surging upstarts couldn’t run a bath, let alone a country.

But I can’t help thinking there’s actually something quite grown up about throwing your hands up in the cold light of day and admitting you overcooked it and got it wrong.

I wonder if it might be more wishful thinking from Reform’s panicking opponents that any of this will really change the price of fish.

It’s hardly like either rival party – especially the Tories – have a leg to stand on when having a pop at others for squabbling.

THE Wimbledon singles finals will be shown live on a BBC rival – giving the broadcaster a unique boast.

Eurosport have landed a five-year deal that also includes a daily 90-minute package of tennis highlights from SW19.

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Carlos Alcaraz, who won the French Open on Sunday, will be back at Wimbledon this year to defend the trophy, above, that he won in 2024[/caption]

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Czech star Barbora Krejcikova lifted the women’s SW19 trophy last year[/caption]

The company is now boasting its the “only channel in the UK to show live coverage of all four of the sport’s major singles prizes”.

That’s Wimbledon, plus the French, US and Australian Opens.

However, the Beeb will remain Wimbledon’s main domestic broadcaster – after its 88 years of coverage.

The arrangements with BBC and Eurosport are both with the All England Lawn Tennis Cub (AELTC).

Ofcom Listed Events regulations allow for “secondary broadcasters” at major sporting tournaments.

And that’s the status Eurosport is taking with the AELTC at Wimbledon.

Susanna Dinnage, MD of Discovery Networks UK and Ireland said the new deal “cements” Eurosport’s “position as

Former Sky Sports presenter Rob Curling will host the channel’s nightly highlights from 10pm.

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This year’s Wimbledon runs from Monday June 30 to Sunday July 13.

Britain’s two-time SW19 king Andy Murray could return as a Beeb pundit, having ended a six-month stint coaching Novak Djokovic.

The grass-court tournament retains pride of place in the BBC’s sporting armoury.

But it costs the Beeb around £60million a year for the privilege.

The Outer Worlds 2 Direct that followed today’s stellar Xbox Games Showcase basically delivered a masterclass in everything Arrowhead Game Studios should be taking notes on. Obsidian Entertainment’s satirical space RPG sequel showcased something that ought to have Helldivers 2 fans salivating with envy. While democracy-spreading soldiers have been complaining about cookie-cutter colonies across every […]

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The Outer Worlds 2 returned with a bang during the Xbox Games Showcase 2025, showing off a stunning new trailer that teased its dark humor, player-driven chaos, and fresh setting. But it wasn’t just a stylish reintroduction; after the trailer, we spent a few minutes with the team behind the game. That’s where things got […]

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Jimmy Friesenhahn, 44, who survived multiple overseas deployments including to Iraq during his 14 years in the Marines, is now paralyzed and can no longer speak.

Torque GC captain Joaquin Niemann has surged home to win LIV Golf Virginia by a stroke for his fourth title of 2025.

Are you an Xbox and Solo Leveling fan? We might have some good and bad news for you. Starting with the good news, Xbox Games Showcase 2025 unveiled Solo Leveling: Arise – Overdrive, coming to PC and Xbox. The bad news is, it will be released for PC first, and Xbox later on. Chin up […]

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Finally, my life made sense: my sensory quirks, mental health struggles, and especially my “social awkwardness”.

Prince William marked World Oceans Day with a solo appearance at the Blue Economy and Finance Forum. “We come together today united by our deep connection to the ocean and our concern for its safety,” William, 42, said in a Sunday, June 8, speech at the event held in Monaco. “For many of us, it […]