India’s bid to reach the semifinals of the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 came to an end on Monday after Harmanpreet Singh-led India’s men’s team was eliminated from the final-four race after going down 3-5 against Argentina in their last Pool E match at Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen.

Earlier, on Sunday, Salima Tete-led India’s women’s team played a 0-0 draw against Australia in their last game in the second phase, which also brought curtains to their semifinal hopes despite losing just one game across two phases of the competition.

India’s wait for a Hockey World Cup medal has now extended even further, as the last time India won a medal was back in 1975, when India’s men’s team won their first and only World Cup gold medal.

Both the men’s and women’s teams will now play classification matches to find out their final standings in the 16-team tournament.

Who will India play in the classification matches?

India’s men’s team qualified for Phase 2 with 0 carryover points as they closed their Phase 1 campaign against fellow Pool D qualifier England. They went on to lose 1-3 against the Netherlands and 3-5 against Argentina in the second phase, finishing at the bottom of the Pool E table, forcing them to play the 7th/8th-place classification match against Belgium, who finished at the bottom of the Pool F points table.

On the other hand, India’s women’s team had a better result in Phase 1 as they remained unbeaten and played a draw against fellow Pool D qualifier China to walk into the second phase with 1 carryover point.

In the second phase, the Salima Tete-led side lost their first game against the Netherlands 0-2 before playing a 0-0 draw against Australia. While the Netherlands, with 9 points, qualified for the semifinals as the top team in Pool E, India, Australia and China were tied on 2 points each.

When will India’s classification matches take place?

India’s women’s team will be first in action, with their 5th/6th-place classification match against Germany on Thursday, August 27, at Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen, while India’s men’s team will take on Belgium in the 7th/8th-place classification match on Friday, August 28, at Belfius Stadium in Belgium.

Hockey World Cup 2026: Full schedule of classification matches

Men’s category:

Women’s category:

Celtic continue their bid to qualify for the Champions League as they visit Austrian champions LASK in the second leg of their play-off.

Martin O’Neill’s side take a commanding 3-0 lead into the second leg after 24-year-old summer signing Camilo Duran scored a stunning brace to cap off a strong performance, after Benjamin Nygren volleyed the Hoops in front.

But LASK were better than the scoreline suggested, twice having goals ruled out for offside in the first half, setting up a nervy away leg for the Scottish Premiership champions.

Celtic crashed out of Champions League qualifying last season when they lost on penalties to Kazakhstan side Kairat Almaty, and have lost their last five play-off ties in the competition, so will be determined to make it sixth time lucky.

Here’s everything you need to know.

When is LASK v Celtic?

LASK host Celtic at the Raiffeisen Arena on Tuesday 25 August, with kick-off at 8pm BST.

How can I watch it?

Viewers can watch the game on TNT Sports 1 and HBO Max, with coverage kicking off at 7.30pm.

Team news

LASK are without Ramiz Harakate due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury but have no new concerns.

Celtic are missing Jota, also due to a crucial ligament injury.

Predicted line-ups

LASK XI: Jungwirth, Mbuyamba, Alemao, Andrade, Jorgensen, Danek, Ljubicic, Horvath, Bello, Usor, Adeniran

Celtic XI: Sinisalo, Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Tierney, Nygren, McGregor, Baur, Duran, Hogh, Hyun-Jun

Todd Monken finally knows who his QB1 will be in his head coaching debut, and one person is not taking it well.

During media availability on Monday, the Cleveland Browns head coach confirmed that Deshaun Watson would start next month’s season opener at the Jacksonville Jaguars. The multiple-time Pro Bowler has struggled throughout the preseason and been the subject of negative reception from fans, but Monken stressed that they did not factor into his decision.

He also promised that second-year player Shedeur Sanders would eventually get an opportunity to start as the season progressed, but Skip Bayless is not buying it. Shortly after the news dropped, the veteran sportscaster dropped a lengthy rant that bore the following caption:

“Trade Shedeur Sanders to Falcons!”

In the video itself, he said:

“This sorry-a** franchise does not deserve to have Shedeur Sanders on its roster anymore. I wish there were some way that Jimmy Haslam and Todd Monken would decide to get rid of Shedeur, set him free, trade him elsewhere.

“Do I think Shedeur Sanders could win more games than (Michael) Penix (Jr.) or Tua (Tagovailoa)? You better believe I do.”

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Will Compton insinuates Deshaun Watson being named Browns’ QB1 was not Todd Monken’s decision

Todd Monken’s decision to name Deshaun Watson the Browns’ QB1 has been met with much negativity, especially given the former offensive coordinator’s previous track record with the more highly regarded Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson. When explaining it, the coach insisted that it was his decision — one that stemmed from weeks of observation:

“Deshaun gave us the best chance to move the ball and score points. I felt that way going into the last game, but wasn’t sure. And after we talked as a staff and we re-looked at everything, we’re going to go that direction.”

However, Will Compton is not buying that notion. Reacting to comments that Dan Orlovsky made on ESPN’s First Take, the former NFL linebacker and current podcast host implied that the decision may have actually come from Browns owner Mike Haslam:

“Feels like a decision CLEARLY above Todd Monken.”

Kickoff for the Browns-Jaguars game is at 1 p.m. ET on CBS.