Galatasaray and Portugal forward Rafa Leão has revealed the special significance of wearing the No. 7 shirt, saying the famous jersey allows him to honour his childhood idol, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Leão, who has worn the number during his career, said Ronaldo’s influence on him began from childhood and made wearing the shirt particularly meaningful.

“It’s been special for me to wear the No. 7 shirt because Cristiano is my idol since I was a child,” Leão said, according to a report by Fabrizio Romano on Saturday.

Beyond his admiration for Ronaldo, Leão said the number also carries a personal significance for his family, as his children were born on the seventh day of the month.

“My kids were also born on the 7th, so I am so happy,” he added.

The Portuguese forward said he has made efforts to respect the history and significance associated with the shirt while expressing satisfaction with Portugal’s victory.

“I tried my best to respect this number, this shirt. I am happy with the win,” Leão said.

The No. 7 shirt has long been associated with Ronaldo, who wore the number for Portugal and several of his clubs, helping make it one of the most recognisable numbers in modern football.

Leão’s comments came after Portugal secured a convincing victory over Denmark, with João Cancelo, Gonçalo Ramos, Vitinha and João Félix among the players who found the net.

For Leão, however, the occasion carried an additional personal meaning as he continues to wear a number closely connected to the player who inspired him as a young footballer.

England produced a dominant display in Rijeka on Saturday, thrashing Croatia 7-0 to inflict the European side’s heaviest defeat in

their history in the UEFA Nations League.

The Three Lions took control from the opening minutes and raced into a four-goal lead before half-time at Stadion HNK Rijeka.

Captain Harry Kane opened the scoring in the eighth minute, finishing clinically after running onto a threaded pass from Jude Bellingham.

Bellingham doubled England’s advantage in the 21st minute before Anthony Gordon added a third goal in the 39th minute.

England continued to press forward and were rewarded again in first-half stoppage time when Bukayo Saka made it 4-0.

Kane scored his second goal of the evening in the 53rd minute, further extending England’s commanding advantage.

Saka then completed his brace in the 68th minute to put England six goals ahead before substitute Morgan Rogers rounded off the emphatic victory with England’s seventh goal in the 87th minute.

The result represented Croatia’s first-ever seven-goal defeat and eclipsed their previous heaviest losses, including a 5-1 defeat to England in 2009.

Bellingham was at the heart of England’s attacking performance, finishing the match with one goal and three assists.

Kane and Saka also stood out, with both players scoring twice as England dismantled the Croatian defence.

The match was played in front of an unusual crowd of approximately 6,000 schoolchildren after Croatia were handed a UEFA spectator sanction following previous incidents involving supporters.

England’s commanding victory lifted them to six points in Group A3, level with Spain, who had a game in hand at the time of the match.

The result further underlined England’s attacking strength as they began their Nations League campaign with an emphatic statement in Croatia.

Fela FC have been crowned champions of the 2026 MTN Independence Cup after recording a convincing 5-1 victory over Future Heroes in the final at Fela Field, Ipaja, Lagos.

The triumph saw Fela FC lift the seventh edition of the grassroots football competition sponsored by MTN after an impressive campaign that culminated in a dominant display in the final.

Eto was the star of the occasion, scoring twice as Fela FC took control of the contest and never looked back.

Fela FC started strongly and took the lead before half-time when Eto found the back of the net to give his side a 1-0 advantage at the interval.

The forward doubled the champions’ lead shortly after the restart, completing his brace and putting Fela FC firmly in control.

Future Heroes responded by pulling one goal back to make it 2-1 and briefly raise hopes of a comeback.

However, Fela FC quickly restored their two-goal cushion through Faruq before Gbenga added a fourth goal. The champions then completed the rout with a fifth goal to secure a comprehensive 5-1 victory.

Fela FC had demonstrated their attacking strength throughout the tournament. They defeated Ayobo All Stars 3-1 and Kemon FC 3-0 in the group stage but suffered a 2-0 loss to Premier Ballers.

Their knockout-stage campaign saw them beat Junior Milan 3-0 in the round of 16 before recording a commanding 5-0 victory over Grace FC in the quarter-finals.

In the semi-final, Fela FC were held to a goalless draw by HS FC before advancing 5-3 on penalties to book their place in the final.

Overall, the champions scored 24 goals and conceded just seven during the competition.

Future Heroes also enjoyed an impressive journey to the final.

They opened their group-stage campaign with a 3-1 victory over Trenches Kids and followed it with a 5-0 win against Treasure FC, while their final group game against Martel FC ended goalless.

They continued their run with a 4-1 victory over Austin Tigers in the round of 16, followed by a 2-1 win against Bravo Gee in the quarter-finals.

A narrow 1-0 victory over Breeze FC in the semi-final secured their place in the final, where they eventually met their match against Fela FC.

Future Heroes finished the tournament with 16 goals scored and eight conceded.

Individual awards were also presented at the end of the competition. Fela FC goalkeeper Korede was named Best Goalkeeper, while his teammate Sammy received the Most Valuable Player award.

Lion Heart FC forward Okoye Onyekachi emerged as the tournament’s highest goalscorer with 12 goals.

Toma FC of Agege won the Best Behaved Team award.