FIFA World Cup 2026: “It’s not his fault” Belgium coach Rudi Garcia o…

Seattle [US], July 7 (ANI): Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia defended United States player Folarin Balogun amid the controversy surrounding his eligibility for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 clash, saying the striker should not be blamed for the situation after Belgium’s emphatic 4-1 victory over the hosts, according to The Athletic.

Garcia said Balogun personally spoke to him after the match, adding that the issue had no bearing on Belgium’s preparation or performance, according to The Athletic sport-tr.bet

Speaking after the Round of 16 victory, Garcia thanked Belgian fans who stayed awake through the night to support the team and said the performance reflected Belgium’s standing as a footballing nation.

“I think it’s 4am in Belgium right now. To everyone who got up in the middle of the night to support us, I’d like to say a huge thank you. They should be happy and proud of their players today. We showed that Belgium is a great football nation. The players were outstanding and followed the game plan perfectly. We were in control throughout the match. Once again, it was a real team effort," Garcia said, as quoted by The Athletic.

The Belgian coach, however, admitted that Onana’s injury had dampened the celebrations.

“The one big disappointment, the one dark cloud over tonight, is Amadou Onana’s injury. We owed it to him to keep going in the second half, win the match and qualify for the quarter-finals," he added.

Garcia also commented on the controversy surrounding United States striker Folarin Balogun, whose one-match suspension was lifted by FIFA ahead of the knockout fixture. The Belgian coach said Balogun had approached him after the match and stressed that the player was not responsible for the situation.

“Balogun came to talk to me, I liked that. It’s not his fault, he’s not the one to blame. I told him that. I appreciate he came to talk to me," Garcia said, as quoted by The Athletic.

Downplaying suggestions that the Balogun issue had served as extra motivation for his players, Garcia insisted Belgium’s focus remained firmly on its tactical approach.

“It wasn’t needed or necessary (in terms of motivation). What really mattered to us is our game plan. We wanted to be prominent; the U.S. team is dynamic and full of energy. We didn’t need Kevin (De Bruyne), we scored goals," he said.

Coming to the match, Belgium stormed into the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 with a commanding 4-1 victory over the hosts, the United States, at Seattle Stadium.

Charles De Ketelaere starred with a brace to earn the Player of the Match award, while Hans Vanaken scored his first-ever FIFA World Cup goal and substitute Romelu Lukaku added a stoppage-time strike, marking his third consecutive World Cup match with a goal.

Belgium dominated much of the contest despite the USA briefly equalising through Malik Tillman’s deflected free-kick. A costly goalkeeping error by Matt Freese allowed Belgium to extend their lead before Lukaku sealed the emphatic win late on.

The defeat ended the United States’ campaign, making them the last of the three co-host nations to exit the tournament after Canada and Mexico. Belgium will next face Spain in the quarter-finals on July 10 after the Spanish side knocked out Portugal in the Round of 16. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

બેલ્જિયમે ફિફા વર્લ્ડ કપ 2026માં યજમાન યુએસએને 4-1 થી હરાવીને શાનદાર પ્રદર્શન કર્યું.આ વિજય સાથે,બેલ્જિયમ ક્વાર્ટર ફાઇનલમાં પહોંચ્યું.સિએટલ સ્ટેડિયમ ખાતે રમાયેલી આ મેચમાં,બેલ્જિયમ શરૂઆતથી અંત સુધી પ્રભુત્વ ધરાવતું રહ્યું,જેના કારણે યુએસએને વાપસી કરવાની કોઈ તક મળી નહીં.બેલ્જિયમ હવે ક્વાર્ટર ફાઇનલમાં સ્પેનનો સામનો કરશે.

પહેલા હાફમાં ડી કેટેલેરે બે ગોલ કર્યા.

મેચ શરૂ થતાં જ બેલ્જિયમે હુમલો શરૂ કર્યો, અને 9મી મિનિટે ચાર્લ્સ ડી કેટેલેરે ગોલ કરીને પોતાની ટીમને 1-0 ની લીડ અપાવી. ત્યારબાદ, 31મી મિનિટે, યુએસએના મલિક ટિલમેને ગોલ કરીને સ્કોર 1-1 ની બરાબરી કરી. જોકે, અમેરિકાનો આનંદ ફક્ત બે મિનિટ જ ટકી શક્યો, કારણ કે ડી કેટેલેરે 33મી મિનિટે પોતાનો બીજો ગોલ કરીને બેલ્જિયમને ફરીથી લીડ અપાવી.

https://x.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/2074314709147226295?s=20

બેલ્જિયમે બીજા હાફમાં પણ બે ગોલ કર્યા.

બેલ્જિયમે બીજા હાફમાં પોતાનું વર્ચસ્વ જાળવી રાખ્યું. 57મી મિનિટે, હાન્સ વાનાકેને ટીમનો ત્રીજો ગોલ કર્યો. આ ગોલથી યુનાઇટેડ સ્ટેટ્સની વાપસીની કોઈપણ આશાનો લગભગ અંત આવી ગયો. ત્યારબાદ રોમેલુ લુકાકુએ અંતિમ મિનિટમાં (90+3 મિનિટના ઇજા સમય) ચોથો ગોલ કરીને બેલ્જિયમને 4-1થી શાનદાર વિજય અપાવ્યો. આ વિજય સાથે, બેલ્જિયમે યજમાન યુએસએને વર્લ્ડ કપમાંથી બહાર કરી દીધું.

આ મેચ માટે ફોલારિન બાલોગનનો પ્રતિબંધ હટાવવામાં આવ્યો.

આ મેચમાં યુએસ ટીમ માટે સિલ્વર અસ્તર મુખ્ય ખેલાડી ફોલારિન બાલોગનનું ટીમમાં પુનરાગમન હતું. લાલ કાર્ડને કારણે તેના પર એક મેચ માટે પ્રતિબંધ મૂકવામાં આવ્યો હતો, પરંતુ ફિફાએ એક વિવાદાસ્પદ નિર્ણયમાં તેનો પ્રતિબંધ હટાવી લીધો. આમ છતાં, યુએસ ટીમ પોતાના દેશમાં અપેક્ષા મુજબ પ્રદર્શન કરવામાં નિષ્ફળ રહી. ખાસ કરીને બેલ્જિયમે યુએસ ડિફેન્ડરોની ભૂલોનો પૂરો ફાયદો ઉઠાવ્યો. બેલ્જિયમ હવે ક્વાર્ટર ફાઇનલમાં સ્પેનનો સામનો કરશે, જેણે તેમની પાછલી મેચ (રાઉન્ડ ઓફ 16) માં પોર્ટુગલને 1-0 થી હરાવ્યું હતું. આ વર્લ્ડ કપમાં પોર્ટુગલ રાઉન્ડ ઓફ 16માંથી બહાર થઈ ગયું હતું.

આ પણ વાંચો - IND VS ENG 3rd T20I : નોટિંગહામમાં ભારત અને ઇંગ્લેન્ડ વચ્ચે આજે ટક્કર,જાણો મારશે બાજી ?

A day after posting a cryptic message to her 3.1 million Instagram followers, suggesting that India batter Prithvi Shaw cheated on her, his fiancée Akriti Agarwal has now deleted the post and written another cryptic message, “Misunderstood by many.”

Social media was abuzz on Sunday with claims that the opener had cheated on Agarwal, after her social media post read: “I got cheated so many times, yet I never said a word. Still can’t believe that [this happened] after taking one step ahead. Everything is true, every rumour is true, what you see on social media about him.” On Monday though, Agarwal deleted the post and wrote, “Misunderstood by many.”

Contrary to rumours, the couple are still following each other on social media and Agarwal has not deleted her posts regarding their engagement. This has left fans confused about the status of the couple, who got engaged in March. “Is it true that you got cheated,” one of Agarwal’s followers wrote to her. Another concerned follower added: “You deserve better. If he doesn’t respect you now, he never will. ”

IND vs ENG 2026 3rd T20: Shreyas Iyer’s Team India will be aiming to win their first T20I match since winning the ICC men’s T20 World Cup 2026 earlier this year as they go up against England in the third game of five-match series at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Tuesday. Since taking over from Suryakumar Yadav as the new T20I skipper, Iyer has failed to win a single match – losing two in Ireland followed by the four-wicket defeat in the 2nd T20I match in Manchester after the first game was washed out due to rain.

The visitors need to urgently get back to winning ways if they hope to stay alive in the five-game T20I series against two-time former T20 World Cup winners England. Indians finally handed debut to 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi but the move only partially clicked for Shreyas Iyer’s side. Sooryavanshi smashed 14 off 11 balls and put on 50 runs for the first wicket with Abhishek Sharma but failed to carry on to a bigger score.

The Indian middle-order also struggled to put on a substantial score as they were restricted to 190 in 20 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat first in Manchester. “See, our attempt is to improve in all three (departments) – batting, bowling, and fielding. (From) the last World Cup which we won, the plan is that if the next World Cup comes in next two years, then how can we reach the next level from this? Because all other teams will also try to get better,” Team India assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak said I the pre-match press conference on Monday.

“In the last two years, we haven’t lost a single series. We won the (T20) World Cup, we won the Asia Cup T20. (But) after losing two (three) matches, so many people have said ‘they are losing now’,” Kotak added.

England, on the other hand, have chosen to play with the same playing 11 which won them the contest on Saturday. Harry Brook’s side have decided to retain pacer Josh Tongue, although he proved to be expensive in 2nd T20I in Manchester.

“I want to be a big impact bowler in every format, in Tests, T20s and 50 overs as well. Obviously I struggled with injuries a few years back, but that’s part of being a fast bowler. I’ve always wanted to play three formats for England,” Tongue was quoted as saying by The Independent at the pre-match press conference.

India still hold the edge in head-to-head contests against England in T20I cricket with 18 wins as compared to 13 losses in 32 matches till date with one game ending in no-result at Chester-le-Street earlier this month.

He gave us a glimpse. Now we’re waiting for more. @vimalwa shares why all eyes remain on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as India heads to the 3rd T20I.

Watch #ENGvIND tomorrow , 9 PM onwards, LIVE on Sony Sports Network TV channels.#SonySportsNetwork #MamlaPersonalHai… pic.twitter.com/EQ4kd5rmtJ

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) July 6, 2026

Here are all the details about India vs England 2026 3rd T20I match…

When is India vs England 2026 3rd T20I match going to take place?

The India vs England 2026 3rd T20I match will start on Tuesday, July 7.

Where is India vs England 2026 3rd T20I match going to take place?

The India vs England 2026 3rd T20I match will be held at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

What time will India vs England 2026 3rd T20I match start?

The India vs England 2026 3rd T20I match will begin at 10pm IST. The toss for the match will be held at 930pm.

Where can I watch India vs England 2026 3rd T20I match on TV in India?

The India vs England 2026 3rd T20I match will be available LIVE on TV on Sony Sports network channels in India.

How can I watch India vs England 2026 3rd T20I match in India?

The India vs England 2026 3rd T20I match will be available for livestreaming on SonyLiv and JioStar website and app in India.

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India vs England 2026 3rd T20I match Predicted 11

India: Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav/Suryansh Shedge/ Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy

England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue

Atlanta [US], July 7 (ANI): Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said the FIFA World Cup 2026 has been a challenging tournament for all teams, with no side able to establish complete dominance, ahead of the defending champions’ Round of 16 clash against Egypt, according to ESPN.

Speaking at a press conference, Scaloni highlighted the competitive nature of the tournament, pointing out that even some of the strongest contenders have faced difficulties.

“I think this World Cup is proving to be difficult for everyone. There isn’t one truly dominant team. France seemed strong, and they still are, but they struggled against Paraguay," Scaloni said ahead of Argentina’s knockout fixture, as quoted by ESPN.

“Spain struggled until the very end. No team has maintained the form they showed before the World Cup. The opponents are playing well, and the conditions are different from what we’ve been seeing. The players, who have played many matches, are feeling it," he added.

Scaloni also provided an update on captain Lionel Messi’s fitness, confirming that the Argentina legend is available for selection as he prepares to make his 30th FIFA World Cup appearance, further extending his record for most appearances in the competition.

“Leo is fine. He didn’t report any issues, despite playing 120 minutes the other day at the age of 39," Scaloni said.

The Argentina manager said his side remains among the contenders due to its consistent performances over recent years, while acknowledging there are areas that need improvement.

“This team has been a candidate for years wherever it goes, and has always played well – even when things don’t work out, or the opponent makes it difficult for you. Our level is acceptable. We won all four matches, and that’s something to be satisfied with. As always, there are things to correct," he said.

Looking ahead to the knockout encounter, Scaloni warned his players against underestimating Egypt, praising their quality and experience.

“We are alert because Egypt is a good opponent. They are a very good team; they have players with experience and a coach who has been working with them for a long time," he added.

Egypt’s Mohamed Salah will face Argentina for the first time in his career as he looks to extend his team’s best-ever performance in a World Cup.

“Salah is a great player; it will be a pleasure to face him. This team has faced great players before, and we have always taken precautions at a collective level," Scaloni added, as quoted by ESPN.

The winner of Tuesday’s match will go on to play against Colombia or Switzerland. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)