Spain, Germany, Holland favourites in Euro: Ronaldo

Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo has declared that Spain, Germany and Netherlands are the favourites to win the European Championships this summer. The tournament gets underway on June 8 and the 27-year-old touted the trio of nations as the main contenders to lift the trophy.

"Spain have a good chance. Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, why not? But the first three have the great chance to win: Spain, Germany and Netherlands," Ronaldo said at a Castrol event which was attended by Goal.com. "We don’t have a lot pressure. The pressure is for Spain, Germany, Netherlands. But not Portugal. We have to enjoy it, to do the best we can, and let’s see what is going to happen. It will be very difficult."

The prolific Real Madrid forward continued by discussing his thoughts on the tough draw his country have been handed, alongside Germany, Netherlands and Denmark in Group B. "For me it’s the most difficult group in the Euros. It will be very tough for Portugal, but for the other teams too.

"They [Germany] are one of the best teams in the world, as are Netherlands. But I think it [progression] is possible, everything is possible in football. "We are not scared of them, but we respect them because Germany always have strong and compact teams, and it will be tough."

"[Netherlands are] a tough team, but in another way. It will be interesting because Portugal want to play against good teams because the concentration is different when you play against other teams. They're a great team. They are special.

"We know that if we progress we could catch good teams [in the quarter-finals], but this is the most difficult group.

"Can you imagine Holland or Germany out in the group? It will be a surprise! But it can happen!" Portugal kick off their campaign in Poland and Ukraine against Germany at Arena Lviv on June 9 and Ronaldo declared himself pleased with his nation's squad. We are a young group, a fantastic group, with a good and funny coach. It’s really good to be part of this national team, I really enjoy it and I love being there with them."

'Nazmi buka lembaran baru'

NAZMI bersama bapanya, Mansor ketika di Portugal.

KEJAYAAN pemain muda negara, Mohd Nazmi Faiz Mansor mengikat kontrak tiga tahun bersama kelab Divisyen Satu Portugal, S.C Beira Mar akan membuka lembaran baru kepada pembangunan pemain muda di negara ini.

Bagi pengendali Harimau Muda, Ong Kim Swee, berita terbaru mengenai Nazmi ini begitu menggembirakan dan cukup bagus untuk pendedahan pemain muda itu di peringkat tertinggi.

“Ini satu perkembangan yang cukup baik kerana sebelum ini hanya pemain senior saja yang mendapat peluang di peringkat lebih tinggi.

“Perkhabaran positif Nazmi ini akan membuka lembaran baru kepada aspek pembangunan pemain muda di negara ini untuk terus melahirkan lebih ramai pemain muda berkualiti,” katanya ketika dihubungi di Slovakia, semalam.

Menurut laman web rasmi kelab berkenaan, tonggak Harimau Muda yang beraksi di saingan Liga Singapura itu, memikat perhatian panel pemilihan dan terus ditawarkan kontrak tiga tahun untuk menyarung jersi kelab itu.

Namun, di sebalik kejayaan Nazmi memikat kelab Portugal itu, Kim Swee menegaskan semua pihak tidak boleh terus ‘dibuai mimpi indah’, sebaliknya usaha pencarian dan pembangunan pemain muda harus dilipat gandakan.

“Daripada penubuhan Harimau Muda kira-kira empat tahun lalu, kini kita sudah boleh lihat hasilnya. Tapi pembangunan pemain muda tidak boleh berhenti begitu saja.

“Saya akan berjumpa dengan ejen Nazmi (Marco Guimaere) malam ini (semalam). Selepas pertemuan itu, baru kita akan dapat tahu lebih lanjut mengenai kontrak yang ditawarkan kepada Nazmi,” katanya.

Puluhan ribu kunjungi Tokyo Sky Tree

TOKYO - Menara penyiaran paling tinggi di dunia, Tokyo Sky Tree yang setinggi 634 meter di sini mula dibuka kepada orang ramai semalam.

Berpuluh-puluh ribu orang beratur untuk memasuki menara itu semasa hujan.

Kompleks beli-belah dan taman hiburan yang terletak bersebelahan dengan menara itu turut sama dibuka.

Namun, mereka yang berada di dek pemerhati pada ketinggian 350 meter di menara tersebut kecewa kerana tidak dapat melihat pemandangan yang menakjubkan ekoran cuaca mendung.

"Saya sudah lama berhasrat untuk berkunjung ke menara itu," kata seorang wanita, Ayumi Nakazawa yang memenangi tiket ke majlis pembukaan bangunan tersebut.

Tokyo Sky Tree merupakan struktur kedua tertinggi di dunia selepas bangunan Burj Khalifa di Dubai yang memiliki ketinggian 828 meter. - AFP