Islamic State’s threat hangs over 2018 World Cup
Portugal captain reminds countrymen of Euro triumph, says team will put its best foot forward We know we are not the favourites, we have to be realistic, but in football nothing is impossible. We must think match by match. I am confident we will give our best.
Cristiano Ronaldo said Portugal must be realistic as they are not among the World Cup favourites, though the Real Madrid superstar insisted nothing is impossible.
Euro 2016 champions Portugal will face Spain (June 15), Morocco (June 19) and Iran (June 25) in Group B at the World Cup in Russia.
Portugal defied the odds to be crowned European champions two years ago and captain Ronaldo – who is set to return to the starting XI for Thursday’s friendly against Algeria having enjoyed some rest following last month’s Champions League triumph – said Fernando Santos’ men will give their all at the showpiece tournament.
Led by
Ronaldo Cristiano Ronalo
as Portugal were sent off to the World Cup at a Lisbon reception held by president Marcelo Rebelo De Sousa on Wednesday, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner said: “What I can guarantee is a great ambition of all of us players and technical team.
“We know we are not the favourites, we have to be realistic, but in football nothing is impossible. While moribund in Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State (IS) group poses a real threat to Russia’s World Cup that must be taken seriously, security experts warn.
Alarm bells have been ringing since disturbing photo-montages began to appear on social media late last year.
Crude and explicit, they showed superstars such as Lionel Messi and Neymar dressed in the frighteningly familiar orange suits used for videotaped executions. Lying on the ground, with knives up against their throats or dying in flames, the message accompanying them was blunt. “You will not enjoy security until we live it in Muslim countries,” the posts said.
Brian Glyn Williams and Robert Troy Souza, authors of a report published last month by West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) on the dangers IS poses to the June 14 to July 15 World Cup, said the propaganda campaign unfurled by IS was “unprecedented”.
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