At SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, with Belgium and Spain locked at 1-1 in the second half of a World Cup quarterfinal, Thibaut Courtois took a goal kick and felt his leg pain. While he tried to carry on, by the 71st minute, he was walking off the pitch in tears, and Belgium’s World Cup was effectively over.
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Speaking to the media after the match, Courtois answered the questions around his injury.
“It’s just a shame to go off. It was a special match. I felt good. I had taken two goal kicks. On the second one, I felt a bit more pain in the quadriceps. I let them know that I couldn’t kick long balls anymore.
“I could have stayed in goal. But the coach told me he would sub me off if I didn’t feel 100 percent. I wanted to keep playing out there, but he then made the decision to replace me. That’s no problem; the team comes before everything,” Courtois said (Translated from Spanish).
The man who replaced him, Senne Lammens, became the first goalkeeper other than Courtois to play for Belgium in the World Cup since Geert De Vlieger against Brazil in 2002. It was only Lammens’ third international appearance, so the moment could not have been bigger. But it went wrong almost immediately. In the 88th minute, Lammens spilled a shot from Pau Cubarsí and Mikel Merino pounced to score, sending Spain through 2-1. Courtois watched it from the bench.
“I gave him a big hug, much more I cannot do in the moment,” Courtois said afterward. “He’s a great goalkeeper. He will only get stronger from this.”
He also defended Lammens against blame, noting the pitch was dry and calling it bad luck: “you shouldn’t crucify the guy, he’s had a great season at United and he doesn’t deserve this.”
That said, the injury carries consequences beyond this tournament. Courtois had only recently returned from a right quadriceps injury earlier this year, and this recent incident puts his availability for the start of Real Madrid’s 2026-27 season in doubt, with José Mourinho’s squad already thin in goal behind him.
This was also Courtois’ 21st World Cup appearance, second-most for a goalkeeper in tournament history behind Germany’s Manuel Neuer. After the game, he told reporters he is considering stepping away from international football for a period. However, Head Coach Rudi Garcia confirmed Courtois had not raised this with him, the federation, or his teammates in the dressing room.
“You’re not happy when you have to leave a quarterfinal of a World Cup,” Courtois said. “We’re very proud of everything we’ve done. We are a small country of not even 12 million people that on big tournaments are showing amazing things.”
