Latest news with #BelgianTeam
France 24
a day ago
- Climate
- France 24
Van der Poel drops out of Tour de France with pneumonia
Van der Poel is the top one-day rider in cycling and while he is too large physically to win a mountainous Grand Tour, he lit up the first 10 days of this 21-day slog in the first section in the north. The 30-year-old Dutchman won stage two in Boulogne to claim the overall leader's yellow jersey and kept it until stage five. But his heroic failure against massive odds on stage nine wrote a page of cycling folklore as his 'all or nothing at all' attitude pushed him to go for broke over 150km, being caught just 700m from the line in Chateauroux. The 2023 world champion was taken to hospital on Monday, after cold symptoms worsened. "Mathieu had been showing symptoms of a cold for several days, but yesterday afternoon his condition deteriorated significantly. In the evening, he developed a fever and was taken to Narbonne hospital for tests," the Belgian team said. "Medical tests revealed that Mathieu was suffering from pneumonia. In consultation with the medical staff, it was decided that he cannot continue the race. His health is the priority." Van der Poel won Paris-Roubaix and Milan-San Remo in 2025 and is a multiple champion at cyclocross and mountain biking. "This one hurts a lot," he said on Instagram after his team's announcement. Race leader Tadej Pogacar said on Sunday he was getting over a cold that had affected half the peloton. "It's all the ice packs against the heat and the air-conditioning," Pogacar said of the nasty cold that has dogged Tour de France riders throughout the race. Stage 16 is a 171.5km ride starting in southern city Montpellier before a culmination atop the iconic Mont Ventoux at 1,910m altitude.
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Belgium v Italy: Women's Euro 2025
Update: Date: 2025-07-03T15:00:21.000Z Title: Preamble Content: Hello, hallo, ciao and welcome to coverage of Belgium v Italy at Euro 2025. The tournament kicked off yesterday with Finland beating Iceland 1-0 and hosts Switzerland suffering a 2-1 defeat to Norway. Today, we move on to Group B which could prove to be the pick of the bunch. With Spain expected to seal the top spot, Belgium and Italy could both still be in contention for the second knockout qualification place come the final match of the round on July 11. This year, Belgium will be aiming to reach the quarter-finals for just the second time in their history. However, the Italians will be very difficult to beat. Kick-off for this one is 5pm BST.
Irish Times
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Ireland to face Belgium in October playoffs for spot in Nations League A
Belgium stand between the Republic of Ireland and a place in the top division of the women's Nations League after the sides were drawn against each other on Friday for October's two-leg promotion/relegation playoff. The prize for the winners is a substantial one, as not only will they play in League A next time around, they will also have a less complex qualification path to the 2027 World Cup. Ireland missed out on automatic promotion from League B when they were beaten on goal difference to top spot in their group by Slovenia, while the Belgians, having been drawn in a formidable League A group with Spain and England, the reigning world and European champions, respectively, finished third. They held off the challenge of Portugal for that spot, their shock 3-2 win over England, four days after they'd lost 5-0 to them in Bristol, their decisive result. READ MORE If rankings mean anything, and they usually don't, then this was the best possible draw for Ireland, with Belgium at 20th, just six places higher in the world list. The other nations in the pot were Denmark (12th), Iceland (13th) and Austria (18th). 'We now know our opponents for this playoff and our preparation for those two games starts now,' said Ireland head coach Carla Ward . 'We know that Belgium are a very good team with a strong history in women's football, so this will be a difficult challenge for us but one that we are excited to take on. 'We are building day by day, game by game. We have a fantastic team spirit, a brilliant support staff and a group of players who are ready to take that next step in their progression.' 'We want to reach League A to play against top-ranked teams and be in the best position possible going into the 2027 World Cup qualifiers next year.' The nations last met in a friendly in Brussels in 2021, the Belgians winning by a single goal. There have, though, been wholesale changes on both sides, player and manager wise, since then. Unlike Ireland, Belgium qualified for this summer's European Championships by beating Greece and Ukraine in the playoffs. It will be their third successive appearance in the tournament, their best effort in 2022 when they reached the quarter-finals, where they lost to Sweden. They have, though, never qualified for the World Cup. About two thirds of the Belgian squad, managed by Icelander Elísabet Gunnarsdóttir, play their football outside their homeland, five of them in Italy and four in the English WSL, including Courtney Brosnan and Heather Payne's Everton team-mate Justine Vanhaevermaet. Their star turn is Inter Milan striker Tessa Wullaert, who has a fairly remarkable 90 international goals in just over 140 appearances. Ireland, who play the United States twice later this month in friendlies in Colorado and Ohio, will play the first leg of the playoff at home, Belgium playing most of their home games in Leuven. The ties are set provisionally for October 24th and 28th. Promotion to League A guarantees at least a 2027 World Cup qualifying playoff, but while League B sides can still make it to the tournament, the process is so tortuous Katie McCabe wasn't wrong when she described it as 'nuts'.
