Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill says the "target" for his side is to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, either through the play-offs or winning their group. O'Neill's side will face Luxembourg, Slovakia and the winner of the Nations League play-off between Germany and Italy when qualifying begins in September. The winner of Group A will automatically qualify for the finals in the USA, Mexico and Canada, while the runner-up will go into a play-off. There is a chance Northern Ireland could still qualify for a play-off by finishing outside the top two as winners of their Nations League group last year, but would need other teams above them to also qualify. "We want to be playing for a place in the World Cup, whether that is through a play-off or if we could have an amazing group and overcome one of the big nations," O'Neill said ahead of Friday's friendly with Switzerland. "It is a huge ask but we have to aspire to do it and give the players that target and goal to try and achieve." Northern Ireland face the Swiss in Belfast and travel to Sweden on Tuesday. They will also play Iceland and another game against an unannounced opponent in June's double-header. With that in mind, O'Neill says it is important to make the friendlies "competitive" to try and ensure his side are in the best possible shape for the start of the qualifiers. "Success for us would be managing to secure a play-off place for the World Cup at the very least and that's what we have to aspire to do. "There's no point in me saying to the boys it would be great if we finish third because it won't."

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored the only goal of the game as Chelsea sealed their place in the Conference League quarter-finals with a forgettable second-leg win over Copenhagen. The midfielder showed quick feet on the edge of the box before bundling through a pair of challenges and finishing clinically across the goalkeeper into the bottom corner 10 minutes into the second half. Chelsea, who held a 2-1 aggregate lead from the first leg, were second best in the first half and there were some boos at the end of an opening 45 minutes in which the home side did not have a shot. Copenhagen were full of energy and attacking intent, showing no sign of nerves at Stamford Bridge, but lacked the quality and decision making in the final third to hurt the hosts. Cole Palmer, who started on the bench having missed training sessions earlier in the week through illness, was sent on for the second half and played his part in a much-improved display from Enzo Maresca's side. After Dewsbury-Hall put them in front, Palmer came close to ending a goal drought that now stretches to 10 games as he drove forward and sent his shot narrowly wide. While Copenhagen attempted to force their way back into the tie, Chelsea were comfortable. The visitors had to wait until stoppage time to create a real chance of note when Rodrigo Huescas broke into the box but fired his shot over the bar. Chelsea progress, though, and will face Polish side Legia Warsaw in the last eight. "Chelsea has won the Champions League, the Europa League, it would be stupid of us to say we can't win this," Dewsbury-Hall told TNT Sports. "It's not arrogant from us but we just know the quality that we have in the squad." While Chelsea did not have to go in search goals after victory in Denmark last week, Maresca would have hoped for a much better performance from his side after they toiled to a narrow win over Leicester at the weekend. "This club always won trophies in the past and we need to do our best to achieve our target this season," Maresca told TNT Sports. "We have to give to the fans and the club a title." What the Blues served up in the first 45 minutes, though, did nothing to satisfy an increasingly restless home crowd. Copenhagen were the team full of verve, attacking at pace and throwing men forward, while in comparison, Chelsea were lifeless. The positives there were for the Blues came in glimpses of quality from youngsters Tyrique George and Joshua Acheampong, who was unfortunate to be substituted at half-time. Chelsea needed impetus and, even in the midst of his recent barren spell, Palmer was the man to provide it. There was suddenly tempo to Chelsea's play, the passing was sharper, their threat apparent. Palmer was central to it, interchanging quick passes, jinking away from defenders and looking to thread balls in behind the Copenhagen defence. Dewsbury-Hall broke the deadlock and as the game wore on, with Chelsea in control, Palmer's desperation for a goal become more apparent as, on a couple of occasion, he went for goal when he might otherwise have passed. Even with Palmer, it was far from a vintage Chelsea performance but the second half was a clear example that even when the England star is struggling in front of goal, he remains essential to the Blues' chances of success. "It's important to reach the quarter-finals," Maresca added. "Now the target is the next step which is the semi-finals. "We deserved it over two legs. We changed and adjusted in the second half and we were much better. You need patience."

Rema Rema Dominates the 2025 Trace Awards, Taking Home 4 Awards! Afrobeats sensation Rema had a historic night at the 2025 Trace Awards, winning four major awards and further solidifying his global dominance. Rema Dominates the 2025 Trace Awards, Taking Home 4 Awards! The Calm Down hitmaker walked away with: Best Male Artist Song of the Year – OZEBA Best Collaboration Best Album Rema’s achievements at the awards highlight his unstoppable impact on the music industry, both in Africa and beyond. His electrifying performance of OZEBA was another standout moment of the night, proving why he remains one of the biggest stars in the game. Congratulations to Rema! What’s your favorite track from him? Read More: Top 10 Afrobeats Songs You Need to Jam This Week Tags: RemaRema News

The tariffs are violating basic principles of the WTO and undermining international and bilateral cooperation. On February 1, the United States government announced a new 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports under the pretext of combatting the proliferation of the opioid fentanyl. The following day, the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that China firmly deplored and opposed this move and would take necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests. Indeed, a new tariff is counterproductive not only when it comes to efforts to rein in the production and distribution of fentanyl but also for bilateral trade relations. The US is one of the largest consumers of fentanyl-based drugs in the world and in recent years, their abuse has exacerbated drug addiction and caused many deaths. The crisis has its roots in longstanding opioid use patterns in the country, the profit-driven nature of the US pharmaceutical industry, inadequate public awareness and ineffective social governance. China has some of the world’s toughest counternarcotics policies and laws. In the spirit of humanity and goodwill, China has given support to the US’s response to this issue. At the US’s request, China announced back in 2019 the decision to officially schedule fentanyl-related substances as a class. China has conducted counternarcotics cooperation with the US side in such fields as the scheduling of drug-related substances, intelligence sharing, and cooperation on individual cases. Yet, the US still insists on dramatising the issue and accuses China of driving its fentanyl crisis. But scapegoating other countries for a domestic crisis will not make the problem disappear; tariffs certainly will not. The unilateral sanctions imposed by the US risk weakening its anti-drug cooperation with China and may also force fentanyl precursor transactions to be conducted on the black market or through third countries, making law enforcement even more difficult. Furthermore, these unilateral sanctions imposed violate the basic principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO), of which both China and the US are members. According to the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) – the precursor to the WHO – trade shall be conducted in a non-discriminatory manner. However, the unilateral sanctions imposed by the US on specific countries or enterprises essentially constitute discriminatory treatment. This undermines fair competition among WTO members and poses a potential threat to multilateral trade rules. Additionally, the US practices violate the principle of national treatment laid out in Article III of GATT. The article requires that imported products must not be accorded unfavourable treatment based on their origin after entering the territory of a WTO member. The sanctions the US imposed may directly restrict the import of legal drugs or their precursor chemicals, resulting in discrimination against imported goods from China. The US may seek to justify its unilateral tariffs by citing threats to public health or national security, which under GATT can be used to justify tariffs. But to invoke GATT’s Article XX (“General Exceptions”) or Article XXI (“Security Exceptions”), the US would have to demonstrate not only the relevance and necessity of imposing tariffs to protect public health or national security, but also the absence of other less trade-distorting and equally effective means. Factors such as the complexity of the fentanyl crisis and domestic demand make it difficult for the exceptions to be applied. The frequent use of unilateral sanctions by the US not only violates the core rules of the WTO but also disrupts the international trade order and multilateral cooperation. In particular, abusing exception clauses may prompt other countries to question the fairness and efficacy of WTO rules. The possible retaliation in response to US tariffs from other WTO members could lead to a global trade conflict and encourage the trend towards fragmentation of the global trading system. In the long run, the US sanctions will backfire at home as well. Higher tariffs will result in increased prices for imported goods, increasing the burden on American consumers and undercutting the competitiveness of US companies globally. The US needs to view and solve its own fentanyl issue in an objective and rational way instead of threatening other countries with arbitrary tariff hikes. Reducing domestic demand for drugs and enhancing law enforcement cooperation can be effective solutions to the fentanyl crisis. Trade and tariff wars have no winners. Pressuring or threatening China is not the right way to engage, as my country will firmly defend its legitimate rights and interests. Keeping business ties between China and the US robust serves the fundamental interests of both countries and both peoples, and benefits global economic growth. China hopes the US will work with it to address concerns through equal-footed consultation, maintain the hard-won positive dynamics in counternarcotics cooperation, and jointly promote the steady, sound and sustainable growth of bilateral trade and economic ties. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance. Follow Al Jazeera English:...