Tag: Belgium

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Belgium beats France to reach last four of Davis Cup following Alcaraz withdrawal

Belgium reached the semifinals of the Davis Cup after winning both singles matches against France in Bologna, where fans have been denied star power following injured Carlos Alcaraz’s late withdrawal.

Raphael Collignon and Zizou Bergs came through respective singles clashes against Corentin Moutet and Arthur Rinderknech to set up a potential clash in the last four with holders and hosts Italy.

Collignon came back from a set down to beat world number 35 Moutet 2-6, 7-5, 7-5, while Bergs saw off Rinderknech, France’s highest ranked player at 29 in the world, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).

The two wins for Belgium mean that the scheduled doubles match featuring Belgium’s Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen against Benjamin Bonzi and Pierre-Hugues Herbert will not be played.

Italy will be favored to face Belgium in the semifinals ahead of Wednesday’s match against Austria in front of a passionate crowd in northern Italy.

The Azzurri will be without stars Jannik Sinner — recent winner of the ATP Finals — and Lorenzo Musetti, who were key to the 2023 and 2024 Davis Cup triumphs for the Mediterranean nation.

Both players sit in the top 10 of the men’s single rankings and their absence makes Italy’s match with Austria more difficult to call.

There was more bad news for the tournament as world number one Alcaraz also pulled out of the tournament on Wednesday morning with a hamstring injury suffered against Sinner in their ATP Finals showdown on Sunday night.

The six-time Grand Slam champion said in the aftermath of that defeat that his hamstring hadn’t affected him, even though it was strapped up during a medical time out.

But he has dropped out of the tournament two days before Spain’s quarterfinal with Czech Republic, leaving the beleaguered event without the hoped-for stardust.

The highest ranked player at the Davis Cup finals is former Olympic champion Alexander Zverev, ranked three in the world.

But the German, whose country faces Argentina on Thursday, recently blasted the current format, calling it “an exhibition tournament”.

He wasn’t the only one to criticize the tournament, with Sinner saying during the ATP Finals that he “never unfortunately played the Davis Cup, the real Davis Cup”, and suggested each edition be played over two years.

Ross Hutchins, the head of the International Tennis Federation which organizes the Davis Cup, insisted that the absences of three headline players were “three specific cases” and not a sign of the tournament being snubbed by the sport’s stars.

Hutchins cited Musetti saying that the imminent birth of his second child played a part in his decision, but the world number eight said last week that the physical and emotional stress of a long season was the main reason for his withdrawal.

Sinner dropped out in order to get an extra week of close-season rest after completing a complicated campaign by retaining the ATP Finals. (JapanToday)

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Scotland reaches 2026 World Cup with stunning late show; Spain, Switzerland qualify

Injury-time wonder-goals by Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean handed Scotland a stunning 4-2 win over Denmark on Tuesday to qualify them for the 2026 World Cup, while Spain also booked their ticket with a 2-2 draw against Turkey.

Belgium thumped Liechtenstein 7-0 to reach next year’s tournament as Switzerland and Austria ground out draws to secure their places in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Scotland’s late show in Glasgow means Steve Clarke’s side have qualified for the global footballing showpiece for the first time since 1998.

Level at 2-2 as the clock ticked past 90, Denmark were set to advance to the World Cup as Group C winners until Tierney curled in an exquisite finish from distance three minutes into injury time.

McLean then put the match beyond doubt as he lifted the ball over Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who was well off his line, from the halfway line on 98 minutes.

“That just sums up this squad,” captain Andy Robertson told the BBC. “Never say die. We just keep going right to the end and one of the craziest games.

“We put the country through it, but I’m sure it’s worth it. We’re going to the World Cup.”

Earlier, Napoli midfielder Scott McTominay had given the hosts a third-minute lead with a towering overhead kick.

McTominay’s clubmate Rasmus Hojlund leveled for Denmark from the spot just shy of the hour, before his side went down to 10 as Rasmus Kristensen picked up a second booking.

An anxious Hampden Park let out a roar of ecstasy and relief in the 78th minute as Lawrence Shankland turned in from close range.

But Denmark struck back again through Patrick Dorgu four minutes later before Tierney and McLean stole the headlines.

Denmark will now be in Thursday’s draw for the European play-offs, which will take place next March.

Switzerland will appear in a sixth successive World Cup finals after drawing 1-1 in Pristina against Kosovo.

With the Swiss needing to avoid a defeat by six goals to seal top spot, they rarely looked troubled as Ruben Vargas handed them the lead in the 47th minute before Florent Muslija equalised.

Euro 2024 winners Spain found themselves in a similar situation in Seville against Turkey but also never looked like going down to the seven-goal loss that would have sent the visitors through in their place.

Dani Olmo fired Spain ahead but Deniz Gul and Salih Ozcan struck for Turkey as the hosts conceded their first goals in the qualification process.

But Mikel Oyarzabal hit back after the hour to extend Spain’s unbeaten run.

“We wanted to finish with a win and a clean sheet, so it’s bitter-sweet… but we’re happy to qualify for the World Cup,” Olmo told TVE.

Michael Gregoritsch bundled home a 77th-minute leveller to snatch a 1-1 draw for Austria against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which sealed Ralf Rangnick’s team a first World Cup appearance in 28 years.

“I can’t believe it; we made it! I have been trying to reach the World Cup for 18 years. Finally now, at the end of my career, we got there. I can’t wait,” 36-year-old Austrian forward Marko Arnautovic said, according to UEFA.com.

Haris Tabakovic’s early strike had looked as if it might be enough for the visitors to snatch first place from under Austria’s noses until Gregoritsch condemned Bosnia to the play-offs.

Belgium, semi-finalists in 2018, cruised into the draw for the World Cup with a Jeremy Doku-inspired hammering of Liechtenstein.

The Manchester City winger grabbed a brace in Liege as Charles De Ketelaere also netted twice and Hans Vanaken, Brandon Mechele and Alexis Saelemaekers completed the rout.

In Group J’s other match, second-placed Wales also ran up seven goals as they beat North Macedonia 7-1 with Harry Wilson scoring a hat-trick of set-piece goals.

North Macedonia can, nonetheless, look forward to a play-off place courtesy of their Nations League performance.

Romania, who beat San Marino by the same scoreline, will also have the chance to reach the World Cup thanks to the Nations League after finishing third in Group H.

Sweden, who picked up just their second point of the qualifying campaign with a 1-1 home draw against Slovenia, advanced in the same manner.

The 16-team European play-offs will allow an additional four teams from the continent to make it to North America next year. (JapanToday)

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France among six more countries to formally recognise Palestinian statehood

The leaders of six countries, including France, have moved to recognise Palestinian statehood at a high-level summit ahead of the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting in New York.

Alongside France, which co-convened the meeting with Saudi Arabia on Monday in New York, Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta and Monaco said they were recognising a Palestinian state.

Leaders from Australia, Canada, Portugal and the United Kingdom, which formally made the move to recognise Palestine a day earlier, also spoke at the meeting.

“We have gathered here because the time has come,” Emmanuel Macron said at the summit convened to revive the long-delayed two-state solution to end the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“It falls on us, this responsibility, to do everything in our power to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution,” Macron said.

“Today, I declare that France recognises the state of Palestine,” he said.

The additional countries recognising Palestine now join some 147 of the 193 UN member states that had already formally recognised Palestinian statehood as of April this year.

With more than 80 percent of the international community now recognising the state of Palestine, diplomatic pressure has ramped up on Israel as it continues its genocidal war on Gaza, where more than 65,300 Palestinians have been killed and the has been enclave turned into rubble.

Spain, Norway and Ireland recognised Palestinian statehood last year, with Madrid also imposing sanctions on Israel for its war on Gaza.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told the summit on Monday that a two-state solution was not possible “when the population of one of those two states is the victim of a genocide”.

“The Palestinian people are being annihilated, [so] in the name of reason, in the name of international law and in the name of human dignity, we have to stop this slaughter,” Sanchez said.

Macron, in his speech to the summit, also outlined a framework for the creation of a “renewed Palestinian Authority”. The post-war framework envisages an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) that would assist in preparing the Palestinian Authority (PA) to take over governance in Gaza.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas commended the countries that had recognised Palestine. He made his statement to the conference by video because he was denied a visa by the administration of US President Donald Trump to attend the UNGA this week.

“We call on those that have not yet done so to do so to follow suit”, Abbas said, adding that the PA also demanded “support for Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations”.

Israel and the US, which are becoming increasingly isolated internationally on the issue, boycotted the summit, with Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, describing the event as a “circus”.

Although the vast majority of UN member states now recognise Palestinian statehood, new UN member states must have the support of the UN Security Council, where the US has used its veto to block Palestine from becoming a full UN member state.

Speaking at the summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his support for the two-state solution, framing it as the only viable path towards peace after years of failed negotiations and ongoing violence.

Guterres said that statehood for Palestinians “is a right, not a reward”, rejecting US and Israeli claims that it was a reward for Hamas.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, thanked Macron and the UN chief for their efforts towards a two-state solution, which he said is “the only way to achieve just and lasting peace”.

He said the conference comes at a time when “the Israeli occupation authorities continue their aggression and their brutal crimes” against Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel also continues its “violations in the West Bank, and its repeated attacks on Arab and Muslim countries, with the most recent attack on Qatar”, he said.

“These actions underline Israel’s insistence on continuing aggressive practices that threaten regional and international peace and stability and undermine efforts of peace in the region,” he added. (AlJazeera)