Belgium National Team Cancels Training After Terror Attacks

After two explosions rocked Zaventem airport in Belgium and another explosion an hour later at Maelbeek metro station, the Belgium national team has canceled training ahead of its friendly against Portugal next Tuesday. It’s unclear if the match at King Baudouin Stadium will go forward as planned. The most recent numbers, according to Belgium’s health minister, include 26 dead and another 136 injured in the attacks. The blasts came just days after the arrest of Salah Abdeslam, the final suspect believed responsible for the November attacks in Paris outside of the Stade de France during a friendly between France and Germany and the mass shooting at the Bataclan.

Norwich City striker Dieumerci Mbokani, on loan from Dynamo Kiev, was at Zaventem when the bombs were detonated, but he is back home with his family now according to the club. In a statement on their website, Norwich said Mbokani was “unharmed but shaken by the tragic events at the airport.”

Several Belgian soccer players have weighed in on the attacks, including Manchester City teammates Kevin De Bruyne (above) and Vincent Kompany. Many offered heartfelt messages and expressed shock and dismay that we are yet again talking about a deadly terrorist attack in a major city.

The Portuguese football association also reacted to the bombing and released a statement saying that it would be working with “its Belgian counterpart and the Portuguese, Belgian and international authorities, in view of the events of today and the anticipated game for Tuesday next week.”

[Guardian]