Barcelona brush aside Real Madrid to make Women's Champions League semis
Barcelona blasted their way into the semi-finals of the Women's Champions League with a 6-0 thrashing of Real Madrid to give them a whopping 12-2 aggregate victory over their Spanish rivals on Thursday, setting them up for a last-four clash with German side Bayern Munich, Reuters reported.
They will be joined in the semis by OL Lyonnes (formerly Olympique Lyonnais), who beat Bayern's compatriots VfL Wolfsburg 4-1 on aggregate after extra time to put them through to a meeting with reigning champions Arsenal.
Already leading 6-2 after last week's first leg, Barca showed no mercy in the second against Madrid, Alexia Putellas opening the scoring in the eighth minute and Caroline Graham Hansen adding a second seven minutes later to snuff out any hopes Madrid might have had of making a comeback, according to Reuters.
Danish soul-searching begins as Czechs end World Cup dreams
Denmark’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup has plunged the national team into a period of transition, ending a decade-long run of appearances at major tournaments and raising questions over the direction of its ageing squad, Reuters reported.
Denmark’s qualification hopes ended on Tuesday when they lost 3-1 on penalties to the Czech Republic in Prague after a 2-2 draw in the playoff final.
The setback followed a run of damaging results, including a 2-2 home draw with Belarus and a late 4-2 defeat by Scotland that handed the Scots automatic qualification, according to Reuters.
Arsenal into Women's Champions League semi-finals after 3-2 aggregate win over Chelsea
Reigning champions Arsenal booked their spot in the Women's Champions League semi-finals with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Chelsea, despite a 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in Wednesday's quarter-final second leg, Reuters reported.
Knowing they had to chase the game, Chelsea, who had manager Sonia Bompastor ‌sent off late on, started at a furious pace. Yet Arsenal soon knocked them out of their rhythm, and the home side didn't manage a single shot on target in the first half as the visitors took their time over every dead ball.
Arsenal grew into the game in the second half, but all the drama happened late on as Chelsea threw everything forward in an effort to get back in the tie, according to Reuters.
Iraq defeat Bolivia 2-1 to qualify for World Cup 2026
Iraq have ended a 40-year wait for an appearance at the FIFA World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Bolivia in the second final of the intercontinental playoffs in Mexico, making them the 48th team to qualify for the tournament, Reuters reported.
Goals from Ali al-Hamadi and Aymen Hussein helped the Lions of Mesopotamia edge past the South American nation at the Monterrey Stadium in Guadalupe on Tuesday.
Al-Hamadi’s opener in the 10th minute gave Iraq the perfect start, but Moises Paniagua drew the Greens level 28 minutes later in a closely-contested match in one of the cohost nations of the World Cup, according to Reuters.



