Sports
Belgium GK Thibaut Courtois on injury sub: Team above everything
July 10, 2026; Inglewood, California, U.S.; Belgium’s Thibaut Courtois. Mandatory Credit: Gary Vasquez-Imagn Images Thibaut Courtois has kept Belgium in many a match throughout his national team career. But an injury substitution before a heartbreaking loss may have been the goalkeeper’s final World Cup moment.
Courtois said he would have been able to play through a leg injury, but he accepted being taken out for Senne Lammens in the 71st minute of Belgium’s quarterfinal showdown with Spain on Tuesday.
Lammens proceeded to let in Mikel Merino’s game-winning goal in the 88th minute, which enabled La Roja to advance 2-1.
“I felt a lot of pain in my quadriceps. But I had no problem with staying in goal though, only for long kicks,” Courtois told media after the match, per soccer reporter Fabrizio Romano.
“In the end the manager decided to take me off. This is no problem as the team goes above everything.”
The Real Madrid star let in Fabian Ruiz’s goal to open the scoring in the 30th minute, but Charles De Ketelaere equalized for Belgium before halftime.
Courtois was credited with four saves before his exit. He supported Lammens, 24, a Manchester United goalie who made two saves in his brief World Cup debut. Lammens dropped a soft shot by Pau Cubarsi and Merino smashed the rebound past him for the deciding goal.
“Senne Lammens is a fantastic goalkeeper with a bright future,” Courtois said. “This moment will make him stronger.”
It’s not known whether Courtois will make another World Cup appearance as he’ll be 38 when he is 38 during the 2030 tournament.
His goalkeeping spurred Belgium to a quarterfinal run in 2014 and a third-place finish in 2018, their best World Cup to date. Friday was Courtois’ 21st World Cup match; he’s had eight clean sheets, tied for third all-time behind Fabien Barthez and Peter Shilton, each with 10.
Per reports from his mixed zone interview, Courtois said he would like to take a year off from international competition — skipping the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League — and play for Belgium in qualifiers for the 2028 UEFA European Championship.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Alexander Zverev to face Jannik Sinner in Wimbledon final
Alexander Zverev defeated hometown wild card Arthur Fery to advance to the Wimbledon men’s final. Second-seeded Alexander Zverev put an end to the “Fery-tale” run of a British wild card on Friday and punched his ticket to the Wimbledon final for the first time, where he’ll face defending champ Jannik Sinner, who knocked out seven-time champion Novak Djokovic.
Zverev recorded a 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4 victory over Arthur Fery in 2 hours, 14 minutes to advance to Sunday’s final at the All England Club in London.
“It’s amazing. This is the one that I’ve always struggled with the most. Now I’m in the final at Wimbledon,” Zverev said.
No. 1 seed Sinner, meanwhile, defeated Djokovic in straight sets in the semifinals for the second straight year at Wimbledon, this time notching a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win.
However, Sinner may have been thinking more about his most recent matchup against Djokovic, a five-set loss in the Australian Open semis in January, as the Italian dominated the 24-time major winner in two hours and 20 minutes to leave no questions this time.
“We always have very tough matches, and the last one he won in the semis in Australia,” Sinner said of his rivalry with Djokovic. The pair are 2-2 at Wimbledon but Sinner has won six of the seven most recent matchups to lead 7-5 overall against the Serbian.
“So I tried to make a couple of adjustments, even though here on grass it is very difficult,” Sinner said. “I tried to stay quite aggressive, serving very well which helped me a lot today. He’s probably the best returner we have in our game, so I tried to mix it up.”
Sinner won 88 percent (45/51) of points behind his first serve, knocked down 16 aces, and saved the only break point he faced against Djokovic.
Zverev, 29, notched his second straight major final appearance. The German won his first Grand Slam title at the French Open last month with a five-set victory over Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in Paris.
Should Zverev win Sunday, he will become just the seventh man in the Open Era to win the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double in the same year. Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz also accomplished that feat.
“It’s not gonna be easy no matter who it is against,” Zverev said after his win, which was completed before the Sinner-Djokovic match. “But I have to trust myself and believe I can win. That’s what I’m gonna do.”
Fery, who was ranked 114th in the world, was the second wild card to reach a Wimbledon semifinal after 2001 titlist Goran Ivanisevic. Fery, whose 24th birthday is on Sunday, grew up less than a mile from the All England Club.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Flight delay: Red Sox stuck in Chicago ahead of game in New York
Apr 29, 2021; Arlington, Texas, USA; A view of the Boston Red Sox logo and a field bag during batting practice before the game between the Texas Rangers and the Boston Red Sox at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Players on the Boston Red Sox are being reminded of their travel ball days as they deal with flight delays, with an expected arrival in New York on Friday just ahead of game time.
The Red Sox have experienced a multiple flight issues over two separate days and remained grounded at Chicago’s Midway Airport ahead of a scheduled 7:15 p.m. start against the New York Mets.
As of 2 p.m. ET, Friday’s game time was unchanged.
The Red Sox’s original flight was scheduled to leave Chicago on Thursday at 8:45 p.m. local time following a 2-1 afternoon victory over the White Sox.
The current flight plan has the team arriving at New York’s LaGuardia Airport around 4:10 p.m. ET. The airport is only 3 miles from the Mets’ home ballpark.
Most players arrive at the ballpark for road games around four or five hours before first pitch.
Boston finished off a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox on Thursday afternoon. They have won a season-high six consecutive games and 11 of their last 13.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: FIFA could make $11 million from pieces of World Cup final turf
People carry “FIFA” letters on to the field before a 2026 FIFA World Cup round of 32 match between France and Sweden at New York New Jersey Stadium on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in East Rutherford, NJ. The field that will be used for the World Cup final later this month is about to fetch some serious green.
According to The Athletic, FIFA will sell four different tiers of souvenir turf that will be harvested after the world’s most-watched sporting event concludes July 19 at East Rutherford, N.J.
The sale, which is only available for customers in the United States and Europe, is expected to generate over $11 million.
In addition to the high-priced tickets and memorabilia for the tournament, it will cost $3,000 for the highest priced tier of souvenir turf. The 3-inch by 3-inch portion of grass will include a gold-etched replica ticket, a replica mini World Cup ball and a crystal-cut World Cup trophy.
The three other tiers of souvenir turf will sell for $450, $900 and $1,200.
There will be no more than 2,026 pieces available in any one tier.
The report indicated that the turf which will be used for the World Cup final was grown at a turf farm in North Carolina.
For consistency, new turf fields were installed at all World Cup venues, including those that typically have artificial surfaces like the stadiums in Seattle, Atlanta, East Rutherford, Vancouver, Canada, Arlington, Texas, and Inglewood, Calif.
There is no indication of what will happen to the turf fields that are not being used for the final.
The 2026 World Cup consisted of a record 48 teams that will end up playing 104 matches in three countries. A total of 16 venues are being used for the tournament.
–Field Level Media
Alexander Zverev to face Jannik Sinner in Wimbledon final
Flight delay: Red Sox stuck in Chicago ahead of game in New York
