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With the UEFA Euro Championship coming ahead, England and Belgium announced their final squad for the one-month long tournament that will be played from June 15 till July 14 in Germany. Furthermore, Sunil Chhetri bid a tearful goodbye to Indian football team, the Blue Tigers after drawing their AFC World Cup Qualifiers match against Kuwait on June 6.
Read below to learn details about these top stories and other happenings in the sporting world in the last 24 hours.
Football
Harry Maguire, Jack Grealish, James Maddison axed from England’s Euro 2024 squad
As England announced their final 26-man squad set to travel for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024, the likes of Harry Maguire, Jack Grealish and James Maddison were snubbed from the final call-up. After releasing a 33-man squad for their scheduled friendlies and practice sessions before heading to Germany for the Euro, England trimmed the final pick down to 26 players.
Belgium announce 25-man squad; leave out Thibaut Courtois
Belgium has confirmed its 25-player squad for the upcoming European Championship in Germany, opting not to add an extra name despite recent training sessions. Coach Domenico Tedesco announced on Friday that the team will head to the tournament one player short of the 26 allowed, after a week of speculation regarding potential additions. One notable absentee from the side is Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois.
Luka Modric wishes Sunil Chhetri ahead of his last game for India
Indian football legend and captain Sunil Chhetri will retire from international football after the Blue Tigers' FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifying match against Kuwait on June 6. Ahead of India vs. Kuwait, India head coach Igor Stimac took to X to share Croatia captain and Real Madrid legend Luka Modric's heartfelt video message praising the 29-year-old Chhetri.
Sunil Chhetri gets emotional as Blue Tigers give guard of honour
India captain Sunil Chhetri couldn't hold back his tears and bid an emotional goodbye to football on Thursday, June 6. The 39-year-old found it difficult to control his tears as he took a lap, and received a guard of honour by his teammates. Sunil's parents and wife were also in the stand seeing the footballer play his 151st game.
Dana White absurdly compares Power Slap with Real Madrid, Taylor Swift
UFC CEO Dana White recently made absurd claims that Power Slap has more followers than football giants Real Madrid and the slap-fighting promotion has more views than any of American popstar Taylor Swift's videos posted ever. However, fans are not having any of White's claims and mocked him by calling him delusional.
Some major results in football are as under:
International Friendlies
Mexico 0:4 Uruguay
Gibraltar 0:0 Wales
Netherlands 4:0 Canada
AFC World Cup Qualifiers
India 0:0 Kuwait
Afghanistan 0:0 Qatar
Myanmar 0:5 Japan
Korea DPR 1:0 Syria
Singapore 0:7 South Korea
China 1:1 Thailand
Chinese Taipei 0:3 Oman
Kyrgyzstan 1:1 Malaysia
Hong Kong 2:4 Iran
Uzbekistan 3:1 Turkmenistan
Indonesia 0:2 Iraq
Vietnam 3:2 Philippines
Pakistan 0:3 Saudi Arabia
Jordan 3:0 Tajikistan
Nepal 0:4 UAE
Bangladesh 0:2 Australia
Tennis
Jasmine Paolini ends Mirra Andreeva’s dream run; enter first Gland Slam final
12th seed Jasmine Paolini advanced to her maiden Grand Slam final after beating Mirra Andreeva in the French Open 2024 at Philippe-Chatrier. On Thursday, June 6, the Italian player defeated the 17-year-old Andreeva 6-3, 6-1 in an hour and 13 minutes in the semi-final. Andreeva, who earlier defeated World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinal.
Iga Swiatek on cusp of hat-trick; beats Coco Gauff in semi-final
World No.1 Iga Swiatek is one step away from achieving the distinction of winning the French Open women’s singles title for three seasons in a row. On Thursday, June 6, the Polish defeated USA’s Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4 in the semi-final at Court Philippe-Chatrier. Swiatek took only 1 hour and 37 minutes to get the better of Gauff.
Badminton
Lakshya Sen crashes out after losing to Antonsen in quarterfinals of Indonesia Open 2024
India's challenge at the Indonesia Open Super 1000 tournament ended after star shuttler Lakshya Sen bowed out in the quarterfinals of the men's singles event on Friday. Sen, who is ranked 14th in the world, fought valiantly but ultimately succumbed to a 22-24, 18-21 defeat against world number 5, Anders Antonsen of Denmark. The match lasted for lasted one hour and one minute, and with the win, Antonsen now leads their head-to-head record 3-2.
NBA
Drake places $500k bets on Dallas Mavericks and Edmonton Oilers
Canadian rapper Drake once again caught headlines with his two more bets. The ‘In My Feelings’ singer placed a bet on the Dallas Mavericks and Edmonton Oilers for the NBA Finals 2024 and Stanley Cup finals. The Mavericks will clash against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals on June 7. On the other hand, the NHL will have their Stanley Cup finals, commencing on Saturday, June 8.
