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Romelu Lukaku makes Belgium's World Cup roster

Belgium's Romelu LukakuBelgium’s Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring their first goal in the a Nations League playoff game against Ukraine on March 20, 2025.

Romelu Lukaku was named to Belgium’s 26-man World Cup roster on Friday despite the team’s all-time leading scorer being limited to only five appearances for Napoli this season due to injuries.

Lukaku, 33, has 89 goals in 124 appearances for Belgium, but has not featured for the Red Devils since June of last year. He will make his fourth World Cup appearance along with Napoli teammate Kevin De Bruyne, whose season has been disrupted by a hamstring injury.

“Romelu has recovered, but he’s out of shape, and I’m not sure he’ll be able to start the matches. But he’s our best striker, Belgium’s all-time leading scorer,” coach Rudi Garcia told reporters at Friday’s press conference.

Lukaku and De Bruyne will be joined on Garcia’s team by fellow stars Thibaut Courtois, Thomas Meunier and Axel Witsel.

Garcia announced his roster on Friday, with notable omissions highlighted by 20-year-old winger Mika Godts. Godts has 17 goals and 12 assists for Ajax this season. Garcia also went with Starsbourg’s Mike Penders as his third goalkeeper ahead of Nottingham Forest’s Matz Sels.

Meanwhile, forward Matias Fernandez-Pardo received his first call-up for Belgium after a strong season with Ligue 1’s Lille. He will gain experience from the likes of Witsel, the 37-year-old who was included to help balance a fairly young roster.

“The concept of team spirit was important; we needed to stick with a squad that had performed well in the qualifiers, taking into account how the players complement each other and striking a balance between experience and youth,” Garcia told reporters at a press conference.

“This squad is built around playing well and getting on well together. We need to distinguish between our objective and our ambition. Ambition knows no bounds; we all dream of going all the way.

“The objective is simply to finish top of the group and progress from the group stage; we’ll then see who we’re drawn against in the next rounds. We’re not favorites, but I prefer this underdog position, which doesn’t stand in the way of ambition.”

Garcia’s current contract expires at the end of the World Cup, and Belgium is seeking to rebound after failing to get out of the group stage at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Belgium is scheduled to play friendlies against Croatia on June 2 and Tunisia four days later. The team’s World Cup base camp is in Renton, Wash., with the Red Devils opening their Group G play against Egypt in Seattle on June 15. They also will play Iran in Los Angeles on June 21 and New Zealand in Vancouver on June 26.

BELGIUM WORLD CUP ROSTER

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Senne Lammens (Manchester United), Mike Penders (Strasbourg, on loan from Chelsea).

Defenders: Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting CP), Maxim De Cuyper (Brighton), Koni De Winter (Milan), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Thomas Meunier (Lille), Nathan Ngoy (Lille), Joaquin Seys (Club Brugge), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt).

Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne (Napoli), Amadou Onana (Aston Villa), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Axel Witsel (Girona).

Forwards: Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Matias Fernandez Pardo (Lille), Romelu Lukaku (Napoli), Dodi Lukebakio (Benfica), Diego Moreira (Strasbourg), Alexis Saelemaekers (Milan), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal).

–Field Level Media

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Nationals ban individual who displayed white nationalist sign at game

MLB: Washington Nationals at Cincinnati RedsMay 12, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; The Washington Nationals logo on the sleeve of outfielder James Wood (29) as he prepares on deck in the fourth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals are investigating an incident during Sunday’s game at Nationals Park when individuals unfurled a sign that directed fans to a white nationalist website and called for the deportation of “100+ million.”

The individuals resisted removing the banner before fleeing the ballpark.

The team has identified and banned at least one individual from Nationals Park and are working with the Metropolitan Police Department on a follow-up investigation, according to a team spokesman. They did not make public the identity of the banned individual.

“The Washington Nationals vehemently condemn discriminatory and hateful rhetoric, and we strive to make our home field a safe space for our fans,” the team said in a statement to multiple media outlets.

The Nationals, who lost the game 7-3 to the Baltimore Orioles, have a daily “Salute to Service” honoring veterans and military personnel before the fourth inning. It was at that time when the banner was unfurled in the upper deck down the first-base line.

An usher attempted to confiscate the banner but the three individuals holding the sign pulled it back and fled, according to a team spokesperson.

Jake Lang, a Jan. 6 rioter and conservative influencer, took credit for the banner on social media.

The Athletic reported that it is not clear at this time how the banner got through security, with the stadium’s magnetometers able to detect weapons but would not flag something like a nylon sign.

The Nationals’ policy includes guidelines that “signs, banners and fan activities do not distract from the enjoyment of sports games or other forms of entertainment …” and includes restrictions on size and material.

The policy on subject matter is that as a baseball park, the stadium complex “is not a forum or place for use by the public at large for assembly and speech, for use by certain speakers or for the discussion of certain subjects.”

Messages must relate to Major League Baseball, Nationals players and/or management and staff, the entity broadcasting the game or specific family-friendly messages about occasions such as birthdays, wedding anniversaries and engagements.

“Additionally, banners and signs may not bear a message that (i) is slanderous, (ii) is obscene, vulgar or indecent and inappropriate for viewing by children, (iii) contains “fighting words” likely to provoke a breach of the peace, (iv) is presented for a commercial purpose, or (v) contains derogatory matter relating to race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, age, personal appearance, familial status, familial responsibilities, matriculation, political affiliation, source of income, status as a victim of an intrafamily offense, place of residence or business or any other category protected by D.C. law.”

The Nationals, in their posted guidelines, reserve the right to remove a non-conforming banner/sign or require a guest to immediately stop displaying it.

–Field Level Media

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Natus Vincere dominates competition for IEM Atlanta title

Syndication: Arizona RepublicA backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.

Jordan Woodruff

Natus Vincere completed an unbeaten playoff run with a 3-0 victory over GamerLegion on Sunday in the grand final of the Intel Extreme Masters Atlanta event.

Legacy swept BetBoom Team 2-0 in the best-of-three third-place match.

Winning the best-of-five grand final earned Natus Vincere the $125,000 first prize. GamerLegion collected $50,000. Third place was worth $30,000 and fourth $20,000.

The $300,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event began with 16 teams divided into two groups for the double-elimination opening round. The top six teams reached the single-elimination playoffs.

Natus Vincere had downed Team Vitality 2-1 in the quarterfinals and BetBoom Team 2-0 in the semifinals.

They started fast against GamerLegion, winning 13-3 on Mirage, then 13-9 on Anubis before closing out with a 16-13 victory on Nuke.

Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov of Ukraine was voted the Player of the Match with a match-high 60 kills to a match-low 34 deaths for Natus Vincere. Fredrik “REZ” Sterner of Sweden paced GamerLegion with a 54-49 K-D ratio.

Legacy cruised past BetBoom Team 13-4 on Mirage and 13-3 on Nuke for third place.

Bruno “latto” Rebelatto of Brazil led Legacy with a match-high 41 kills and a match-low-tying 12 deaths. Aleksandr “zorte” Zagodyrenko led the all-Russian BetBoom Team with 21 kills.

Intel Extreme Masters Atlanta prize pool

1. $125,000 — Natus Vincere

2. $50,000 — GamerLegion

3. $30,000 — Legacy

4. $20,000 — BetBoom Team

5-6. $12,500 — Team Vitality, paiN Gaming

7-8. $7,000 — B8, Astralis

9-12. $5,000 — FUT Esports, FaZe Clan, SINNERS Esports, Team Liquid

13-16. $4,000 — BC.Game Esports, NRG, Passion UA, M80

–Field Level Media

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Thieves surge through lower bracket, beat OpTic in CDL Major 3 grand final

Syndication: Democrat and ChronicleYMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year.

After losing their playoff opener, the Los Angeles Thieves reeled off five straight wins, culminating in a victorious battle over OpTic Texas on Sunday in the grand final of the Call of Duty League Stage 3 Major in Atlanta.

Los Angeles won the best-of-seven final 4-3 to earn $150,000 and 100 CDL points. OpTic Texas, which had advanced to the final with a 3-2 win over Toronto KOI earlier Sunday in the upper-bracket final, collected $90,000 and 75 points.

All 12 CDL teams began play on Friday along with four outside qualifiers in the double-elimination opening round, split into four groups. The group champions and second-place teams advanced to the playoffs which started on Saturday.

Matches were all best-of-five until the best-of-seven grand final on Sunday.

The Thieves’ path began with a 3-2 setback to FaZe Vegas in the upper-bracket quarterfinals. That dropped them to the first round of the lower bracket, where they dispatched GS Minnesota 3-1. A 3-0 sweep of the Riyadh Falcons in the quarterfinals matched them up with FaZe Vegas in Sunday’s lower-bracket semifinal, which Los Angeles won 3-1.

A 3-0 sweep of Toronto KOI in the lower-bracket final advanced the Thieves to the grand final and a meeting with OpTic Texas.

OpTic opened with a 250-219 win on Colossus Hardpoint before Los Angeles responded with victories on Raid Search and Destroy (6-3) and Den Overload (8-3).

Texas surged ahead with wins on Den Hardpoint (250-242) and Scar Search and Destroy (6-4), only for the Thieves to win the final two maps, 5-4 on Scar Overload and 6-2 on Den Search and Destroy.

Jeremiah “Nium” Harrison of the United States was the Match MVP for Los Angeles with a match-high 130 kills and a plus-13 kills-death differential. Brandon “Dashy” Otell of Canada paced OpTic with 124 kills and a plus-13 K-D differential.

OpTic Texas defeated Toronto KOI 3-2 in the upper-bracket final earlier on Sunday. Texas won 250-152 on Gridlock Hardpoint, then Toronto drew even with a 6-1 win on Raid Search and Destroy.

The back-and-forth continued, as OpTic won 5-4on Exposure Overload, then KOI triumphed 250-212 on Scar Hardpoint. Texas won 6-2 on Scar Search and Destroy to capture the match.

OpTic’s Otell was Match MVP with 83 kills and a plus-4 K-D differential. Tobias “CleanX” Jonsson of Denmark paced Toronto with a match-high 106 kills and a plus-18 K-D differential.

Toronto KOI dropped down to the lower-bracket final, where they were swept 3-0 by the Thieves. Los Angeles won 250-93 on Sake Hardpoint, 6-4 on Den Search and Destroy and 4-0 on Den Overload.

Harrison was Match MVP with 59 kills and a plus-15 K-D differential. American Joseph “JoeDeceives” Romero was the only Toronto player not in negative numbers, as he was even with 51 kills and 51 deaths.

Los Angeles began the day with a 3-1 victory over FaZe Vegas in the lower-bracket semifinal. The Thieves started strong with wins on Gridlock Hardpoint (250-245) and Den Search and Destroy (6-4) before Vegas stayed alive with a 5-4 win on Den Overload. LA closed out with a 250-164 victory on Den Hardpoint.

The Thieves’ Thomas “Scrap” Ernst of the United States was Match MVP with 87 kills and a plus-10 K-D differential. Chris “Simp” Lehr of the United States paced Vegas with 84 kills and a plus-2 K-D differential.

Call of Duty League Stage 3 Major prize pool, with money winnings and CDL points

1. $150,000, 100 — Los Angeles Thieves

2. $90,000, 75 — OpTic Texas

3. $50,000, 60 — Toronto KOI

4. $30,000, 45 — FaZe Vegas

5-6. $15,000, 30 — Paris Gentle Mates, Riyadh Falcons

7-8. $7,500, 15 — Miami Heretics, G2 Minnesota

9-12. no money, no points — OMiT, Carolina Royal Ravens, Boston Breach, Cloud9 New York

13-16. no money, no points — Vancouver Surge, Huntsmen, Project Notorious, ROC Esports

–Field Level Media

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