​Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois still had work to do after being substituted with an injury during Friday’s World Cup quarter-final defeat to Spain, as he adjusted to console his replacement, Senne Lammens. The Manchester United shot-stopper, who enjoyed an impressive first season in England, was beaten by a long-range strike from Pau Cubarsi in the 88th minute, allowing Mikel Merino to deliver Spain’s late winner and seal a 2-1 victory.
Courtois had exited the pitch with a thigh injury after 71 minutes, forcing reserve keeper Lammens to enter the arena cold and face a relentless surge of Spanish attack that ultimately broke Belgium’s resistance. “I hugged him tightly. There’s nothing more I can do at that moment,” Courtois said of his teammate after summoning a few hours of relief to his own emotions. He added that he would have preferred to stay on the field for another five or ten minutes. The Real Madrid star, who had fought back tears as he departed the pitch, admitted he felt frustrated by the substitution in a match where Belgium had just levelled at 1-1 and he had produced several crucial saves. “It’s a shame. But in the end it was the coach’s decision,” he explained.
That decision marked the end of Belgium’s current golden generation era, the generation that highlighted Belgium as one of the pre-tournament favorites, with talents including Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku. Their run to the 2018 World Cup third-place finish now reads as a landmark memory, and many observers question whether this will be the last World Cup campaign for Courtois and some of his trusted teammates.
As for the future, Courtois, now 34, left the door open to an uncertain return to national team duties. “That’s something I need to discuss with the coach and Vincent Mannaert, the sporting director,” he said. He noted that he has appeared in 21 World Cup matches, a tally that places him behind only Germany’s Manuel Neuer (23) for appearances by goalkeepers at the tournament, underscoring his long-standing influence on Belgium’s squad.
Looking ahead, Courtois would like to take a break from the Nations League, with plans to come back for World Cup qualifiers and potentially the European Championship if the coaching staff share that vision. “If the bosses don’t see it that way, I have to consider whether I can continue committing to the national team. Otherwise, today could have been my last game,” he added with a measured sense of gravity about the future.
The quarter-final result leaves Belgium’s immediate footballing story at a crossroads: do they rebuild around the last generation’s core, or pivot toward a new tactical approach that can sustain Belgium’s status as a perennial title contender on the world stage? The answer likely lies in the conversations between Courtois, the national team’s manager, and the sporting director as they map out the next steps for one of world football’s most celebrated goalkeepers and a generation that defined a golden era for Belgian football.