All posts tagged: belgium

Men’s and Women’s Hockey World Cup 2026: Teams, Full India schedule, streaming and format explained

Men’s and Women’s Hockey World Cup 2026: Teams, Full India schedule, streaming and format explained

Published by Parlour News

The 16th edition of the FIH Hockey World Cup will kick off this weekend in Belgium and the Netherlands. Running from August 15 to 30, the quadrennial tournament will be jointly hosted by the two nations across two venues — the Belfius Hockey Arena in Wavre, Belgium, and the Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen, the Netherlands. The FIH Hockey World Cup will begin on August 15. (HT_PRINT) Here is everything you need to know about the tournament. Which teams are playing? The men’s and women’s competition will feature 16 teams, each divided into four pools of four. Co-hosts Belgium are grouped with defending men’s champions Germany, while the Netherlands will look to defend their women’s crown on home turf. India will face England across both competitions and Pakistan in the men’s draw. Men’s Pools Pool A: Argentina, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand. Pool B: Belgium, France, Germany, Malaysia. Pool C: Australia, Spain, Ireland, South Africa. Pool D: England, India, Pakistan, Wales. Women’s Pools Pool A: Australia, Chile, Japan, Netherlands. Pool B: Argentina, Germany, Scotland, United States. …

Belgium’s golden generation leaves without trophies, but not without relevance | Football News

Belgium’s golden generation leaves without trophies, but not without relevance | Football News

Published by Webster

In Belgium’s red, you could not find any blues. There was no reticence in Rudi Garcia’s eloquence. “I reminded everyone to be proud of our World Cup run.” There was no pain behind Axel Witsel’s prestige. “There is pride in the way he played.” There was no confusion in captain Youri Tielemans’ confidence. “We gave our everything. I am sure the country will be proud of us.” The abundance of pride might lead an unsuspecting reader to believe these words were spoken after a Belgian victory. They were not. They came in the immediate aftermath of their 2-1 quarter-final defeat to Spain. Story continues below this ad Could Belgium really be content with defeat in a sport that leaves so little room for nuance? Yes, Garcia’s men were facing the reigning European champions, but they are also Belgium. Ranked eighth. A former semifinalist. They are no strangers to football’s biggest stages. But they once were. When Spain lifted the World Cup in 2010, Belgium had not even qualified. They had, in fact, been thrashed 5-0 …

FIFA World Cup 2026 | ‘Wanted to continue’: Why injured Courtois didn’t agree with Belgium coach

FIFA World Cup 2026 | ‘Wanted to continue’: Why injured Courtois didn’t agree with Belgium coach

Published by Webster

3 min readJul 11, 2026 02:40 PM IST Belgium’s veteran goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has revealed that he wanted to stay on in the quarter-final despite his leg injury, and that the decision to replace him with Senne Lammens was made by coach Rudi Garcia. The move backfired as Lammens failed to pouch a long-range shot from Pau Cubarsi in the 88th minute, which led to Mikel Merino smashing home the rebound that handed Spain a 2-1 win. “Obviously I wanted to continue, but the coach wanted someone 100 per cent, so that’s his decision. I wanted to try to play for five or 10 more minutes because in goal I was feeling good,” Courtois told reporters after the FIFA World Cup 2026 match in Inglewood. The 34-year-old said he had felt an ache as he launched a long kick early in the second half. “I felt something here in my muscle. Then, I did some saves, I felt okay, so I thought, okay, we’ll continue. Then I kicked again long and I felt it a …

8 language-speaker Lukaku unpacks Belgium 2-1 defeat to Spain in 4 languages

8 language-speaker Lukaku unpacks Belgium 2-1 defeat to Spain in 4 languages

Published by Webster

2 min readJul 11, 2026 12:31 PM IST A loss is a loss is any language, but Romelu Lukaku faced questions elegantly on the 2-1 loss to Spain in 4 different languages. The Belgian baritone answered questions in Spanish, English, Flemish and French. He fluently speaks 8 languages, having learnt Italian only after joining Inter Milan in 2019. ESPNmx reported he spoke Flemish (Dutch-Belgian), French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Lingala and Swahili. The Congolese origin super forward of Belgium comes from a country where being bilingual is common, and almost all people speak 3-4 languages given the geography. He told Birmingham Mail he understood German too. “My parents raised me in French and many Anderlecht players spoke it too,” he said after joining West Brom in 2012. It helped him communicate with Claudio Yacob who didn’t speak much English. He would add he appreciated that Black Country in England had a different dialect even as he understood Steve Clarke’s Scottish. He focussed on Spanish at school, telling BM, “My Spanish was always good and we had …

Spain vs Belgium, FIFA World Cup 2026: Mikel Merino stars again as ESP reach semis with 2-1 win – Action in Images

Spain vs Belgium, FIFA World Cup 2026: Mikel Merino stars again as ESP reach semis with 2-1 win – Action in Images

Published by Parlour News

Published on Jul 11, 2026 03:30 am IST Mikel Merino once again proved to be a super-sub, coming off the bench to score a dramatic late winner as Spain booked their place in the World Cup semifinals. …read more 1 / 7 View Photos in a new improved layout Published on Jul 11, 2026 03:30 am IST Spain’s super-sub Mikel Merino came up with another decisive contribution, scoring a late winner as La Roja defeated Belgium 2-1 to reach the FIFA World Cup semifinals.(AP Photo) 2 / 7 View Photos in a new improved layout Published on Jul 11, 2026 03:30 am IST It was the second straight knockout game in which Mikel Merino came off the bench to score the winning goal for Spain.(AP Photo) 3 / 7 View Photos in a new improved layout Published on Jul 11, 2026 03:30 am IST Spain edged Belgium 2-1 to book their place in the FIFA World Cup semifinals, where they will take on France.(AFP) 4 / 7 View Photos in a new improved layout Published …

Lamine Yamal’s girlfriend shares heartfelt support from the stadium ahead of Spain vs Belgium World Cup quarterfinal

Lamine Yamal’s girlfriend shares heartfelt support from the stadium ahead of Spain vs Belgium World Cup quarterfinal

Published by Parlour News

Spain takes on Belgium in the FIFA World Cup quarterfinal at Los Angeles Stadium. Lamine Yamal’s girlfriend Ines Garcia took to social media ahead of Spain’s quarterfinal against Belgium. (Instagram) While La Roja are coming into the clash with an impressive defensive record of not conceding a single goal in the tournament so far, their attacking threat is expected to rely heavily on young star Lamine Yamal. And it appears the 18-year-old forward already has someone special cheering and praying for him as kickoff approaches. Yamal’s girlfriend cheers from the stand Yamal is reportedly dating Spanish influencer Inés García, who took to social media ahead of Spain’s quarterfinal against Belgium to show her support for her boyfriend. A few hours before kickoff, she shared a picture of herself with her hands joined in prayer, seemingly a snap from one of the earlier World Cup matches she attended. She also added emojis suggesting she was praying for the best for both Yamal and La Roja. Also read: ‘No one expected Lionel Messi to be playing at …

Spain’s backline bulwark Pau Cubarsi will make life tough for Belgium

Spain’s backline bulwark Pau Cubarsi will make life tough for Belgium

Published by Webster

All eyes were on the curly-haired wunderkind Lamine Yamal during a training session at La Masia. But the eyes of Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez wandered to a lean, tall figure with boyish looks. He summoned a youth coach by his side and told him he wanted the boy to train with the senior team the next week. On the day of training, when Xavi entered the training ground, he was there with a warm smile and introduced himself in a firm tone: “Hi, I am Pau Cubarsi.” Xavi was impressed. “He had none of the shyness you think of when a teenager called for his first training with the senior team,” the manager recalled to Spanish outlet MARCA. In months, along with the wunderkind Xavi had visited the academy to check out, Cubarsi became a regular in the senior team. After his debut, a Copa del Rey game against Unionistas de Salamanca, Xavi told the media: “With Lamine Yamal, he would mark an era.” He was only 16 then, but in Xavi’s assessment, he was …

Spain vs Belgium World Cup Quarterfinal Match Live Score, Goals, Lineup, Timeline Updates

Spain vs Belgium World Cup Quarterfinal Match Live Score, Goals, Lineup, Timeline Updates

Published by Webster

Spain vs Belgium World Cup 2026 Quarterfinal Match Live: Lamine Yamal is Spain’s attacking spearhead at this World Cup. (Photo: AP) Spain vs Belgium World Cup 2026 Match Result Live: Spain take on Belgium in a clash of European giants in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup on Friday night. Spain hasn’t lost and hasn’t even conceded a single goal at this year’s World Cup. La Roja is unbeaten in 36 straight competitive matches since March 2023. This lofty standard of play clearly doesn’t scare Belgium, which is on a surging trajectory of its own heading into the teams’ World Cup quarter-final. While Spain has been Europe’s most consistent winner for the past 3 1/2 years, Belgium has played its way into position for what could be the final chance for its golden generation to do something spectacular together. Story continues below this ad The tantalizing clash at SoFi Stadium matches a pre-tournament favorite and the reigning European champions against Belgium, which has never quite reached its full potential despite the big-money stars across …

Who is Michael Oliver, the referee for Spain vs Belgium FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal?

Who is Michael Oliver, the referee for Spain vs Belgium FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal?

Published by Webster

2 min readUpdated: Jul 10, 2026 07:36 PM IST For a place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinal against mighty France, Spain and Belgium will lock horns in the second quarterfinal at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday. La Roja scraped past Portugal in a tightly contested battle after Mikel Merino scored an injury-time winner off the bench. Belgium, meanwhile, were clinical in their 4-1 thrashing of co-hosts USA. British referee Michael Oliver will officiate the game, which kicks off at 12:30 AM IST. Who is Michael Oliver? This is Oliver’s second World Cup and his fourth assignment at this tournament. He has already overseen Netherlands-Sweden, Norway-France, and Canada-Morocco. The 41-year-old brings vast experience to the big stage, having officiated over 425 Premier League and 47 Champions League matches at the club level. He is regarded as one of the most trusted officials for both UEFA and FIFA. Spain vs Belgium will be his seventh World Cup game; his previous six include the Croatia-Brazil quarterfinal in Qatar and three matches at this …

how Rudi Garcia rebuilt Belgium

how Rudi Garcia rebuilt Belgium

Published by Webster

Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí had yet to kick a ball. Gavi and Nico Williams had only just joined their local academies. Captain Rodri was on the verge of being released by Atlético Madrid’s youth setup for lacking the necessary physicality. None of Spain’s 26-member World Cup squad had made a professional appearance when Rudi Garcia won his last trophy, the 2010/11 Ligue 1, and can be forgiven for knowing little of Belgium’s manager. The Belgians didn’t know much, either. They do now. The resentment at his appointment in January 2025 was not baseless. He has won only two titles in over two decades as a manager. His immediate predecessor was Domenico Tedesco: young, new ideas, and the only coach to win the DFB-Pokal with RB Leipzig. Tedesco sold dreams, and then delivered nightmares. Amid rifts and disagreements, Belgium imploded early. Before him was Roberto Martinez. He was entrusted with a cohort of talent ranked first in the world, the famed ‘Golden generation’ that promised exactly what its name implied. Gold. Bronze was the closest …