Belgium’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Sweden was abruptly abandoned at half-time due to a terror attack in Brussels, which led to the tragic shooting of two Swedes. Spectators at the King Baudouin stadium were held in the stadium for security reasons as the situation unfolded.
The announcement was made that the players would not return for the second half. UEFA released a statement, saying, “Following a suspected terrorist attack in Brussels this evening, it has been decided after consultation with the two teams and the local police authorities, that the UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying match between Belgium and Sweden is abandoned.”
Belgium had already qualified for the tournament, and the match was tied at 1-1 at the time of abandonment. Sweden’s Viktor Gyokeres had opened the scoring, and Belgium equalized through a Romelu Lukaku penalty.
The tragic incident involved a suspect who remained at large and led to the shooting of two Swedish nationals. Belgian Prime Minister described the event as an act of “terrorism.” Belgian media reported that the two victims were wearing the Sweden national team jersey.
The Swedish Football Association communicated that Belgian police instructed supporters “to stay in the arena for security reasons.” Both teams expressed their condolences to the affected individuals.
Austria secured their place at the finals in Germany with a 1-0 victory over Azerbaijan in the other Group F match, making them the eighth team to qualify.
Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, continued their dominant run with a 5-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, maintaining a perfect record in Group J. Ronaldo extended his international goal tally to 127. Portugal has secured first place with two games remaining and a remarkable goal difference of 32 scored and only 2 conceded.
Slovakia, who solidified their hold on second place, won 1-0 against Luxembourg.
Iceland stayed in contention with a 4-0 victory over Liechtenstein, with Gylfi Sigurdsson scoring twice.
In Group B, Virgil van Dijk’s stoppage-time penalty secured a crucial 1-0 victory for the Netherlands over Greece.
Evan Ferguson, the rising 18-year-old star from Brighton, was among the scorers as the Republic of Ireland dispatched Gibraltar 4-0 in Portugal.
Source: AFP.
