Kim Huybrechts and Dimitri Van den Bergh put their differences aside to send Belgium through to the second round of the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt.
The duo won their opening match against Finland on Thursday night but cracks in their relationship showed immediately afterwards, with Huybrechts admitting he does not “get along with” Van den Bergh, who also said there was “something personal” between them.
But, in an attempt to avoid a civil war in the PDC competition, they put on a united front ahead of Friday night’s match with China.
They said in a joint statement on Twitter: “Following last night’s win at the World Cup of Darts, we have sat down to discuss our recent differences.
“Whilst some issues remain to be resolved in the fullness of time, we are both fully committed to doing our best as a team to win the World Cup of Darts for Belgium, and to represent ourselves, our families and our country in the best light.
“That begins with tonight’s game against China and our focus is now on preparing for the match as a team.”
Harmony was needed in a close match, with Van den Bergh producing an under-pressure 86 checkout in the deciding leg to clinch a 4-3 victory.
Defending champions Australia are yet to drop a leg and they eased to a 4-0 win over Gibraltar, while Croatia claimed a 4-1 upset victory over the Republic of Ireland.
Hosts Germany are safely through, beating Japan 4-0, and Poland set a new record average of 118.1 in their 4-1 success against Lithuania.
Elsewhere, there were victories for France, South Africa, Canada, Latvia, Sweden and the Philippines, while Denmark lost to the USA but still go through.
Tedesco blames injuries after Belgium shocked by Israel
Domenico Tedesco said Belgium's lengthy injury list was to blame after they were stunned by Israel in their final Nations League group-stage game on Sunday.
Belgium were beaten 1-0 in a game played in neutral Budapest, having also lost to Italy by the same scoreline three days earlier.
Tedesco's team were already unable to finish in the top two of Group A1 and make next year's quarter-finals, and they must now face a Group B runner-up in a promotion/relegation playoff.
Belgium were hit by something of an injury crisis during this international break, which captain Kevin De Bruyne opted to skip as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
Romelu Lukaku was then among five players to withdraw from their squad on Saturday, while both Leandro Trossard and Zeno Debast were substituted with injuries on Sunday.
"Some players played 90 minutes three days ago, and tonight they were somewhat compelled to play another 90 minutes," Tedesco said afterwards, as quoted by UEFA.com.
"Overall, the lessons learned were also part of the plan; it was about getting to know many players, as we will be there in March.
"I believe we had 21 injured players in the previous qualifying stage, and today we lost Leandro Trossard and Zeno Debast to injuries.
"We had a team that had never played together, never trained together. We started well, but ultimately, under really difficult circumstances, this is not the result we hoped for, and that's why we are very disappointed."
Despite attempting 649 passes in Sunday's game, their most in a single match in this edition of the Nations League, Belgium only managed 12 shots to Israel's 10.
Their total expected goals figure of 0.91 xG, meanwhile, was only marginally higher than the 0.77 created by Israel, who saw Yarden Shua come off the bench to net an 86th-minute winner.
Despite the loss, Tedesco has seen enough to believe his team will remain in the top tier of the competition when March's playoffs roll around.
"We will remain in League A, I am sure of it, because we know how to play in such matches," he said. "This will be important; that is our goal, as is qualifying for the World Cup."
Israel 1-0 Belgium: Shua late show proves decisive
Relegated Israel stunned Belgium 1-0 in their final Nations League game as Yarden Shua's late goal earned them their first win in the competition this season.
The Red Devils, who were without a number of key players for the tie in Hungary, were masters of their own downfall as they gifted Israel the winner with four minutes left on the clock.
In a cagey first half, Eli Dasa breached Belgium's backline 24 minutes in and beat Koen Casteels with a crisp low effort, only to be denied by the foot of the far post.
Casteels was alert just before the break, getting down low to push Dor Peretz's low drive away from the bottom corner.
Domenico Tedesco's half-time team talk looked to have buoyed his side as they upped the pressure, with Lois Openda hitting the side netting before Johan Bakayoko forced a fingertip save out of Daniel Peretz just after the hour.
However, in their rush to find a winner, Belgium were caught playing out from the back. Dor Peretz latched onto Matte Smets' loose backpass, and though he was bundled over in the box, Shua coolly picked out the bottom corner.
Israel finish bottom of Group A2 and are automatically relegated to League B, while Belgium sit above them due to a superior goal difference in their head-to-head record –they now have a relegation play-off to overcome.
Data Debrief: Tough times for Tedesco
It has been a Nations League campaign to forget for Belgium, who managed just one win and finished with a whimper as they went winless in their final four matches (D1 L3).
They just edged the shot count in Budapest, having 12 attempts to Israel's 10, but without the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne to call on, they lacked a clinical edge.
While Belgium struggled in attack, their defensive struggles will also be a worry for Tedesco. They failed to win any of the four games in which they fell behind in the group, earning just one point from a losing position.
Lukaku among five withdrawals from Belgium squad
Romelu Lukaku has joined four other players in withdrawing from the Belgium squad due to injury ahead of Monday's Nations League finale against Israel.
Belgium sit third in Nations League Group A2 following their 1-0 defeat to Italy on Thursday, a result that ended their hopes of reaching next year's quarter-finals.
They are simply playing to avoid automatic relegation when they face Israel behind closed doors in Hungary, with a draw enough to send the Red Devils through to a play-off against a third-placed finisher from League B.
Napoli striker Lukaku – Belgium's all-time leading scorer with 85 goals in 120 caps – has joined Aston Villa's Amadou Onana, Chelsea's Romeo Lavia, Arthur Theate of Eintracht Frankfurt and Brugge's Maxim De Cuyper in dropping out with unspecified issues.
Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne had already asked not to be included in Domenico Tedesco's party as he works his way back to full fitness after suffering a thigh injury.
Sebastiaan Bornauw, Koni De Winter, Jeremy Doku and Youri Tielemans were also left out of Tedesco's squad due to fitness concerns, while uncapped Coventry City striker Norman Bassette has now been called up as cover.
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