‘Wanted to continue’: Why injured Courtois didn’t agree with Belgium coach

Rudi Garcia decided to bring on Senne Lammens after Thibaut Courtois suffered a leg injury, and the substitute goalkeeper made a mistake that sparked Belgium’s exit

Belgium’s veteran goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has revealed that he wanted to stay on in the quarter-final despite his leg injury, and that the decision to replace him with Senne Lammens was made by coach Rudi Garcia. The move backfired as Lammens failed to pouch a long-range shot from Pau Cubarsi in the 88th minute, which led to Mikel Merino smashing home the rebound that handed Spain a 2-1 win.

“Obviously I wanted to continue, but the coach wanted someone 100 per cent, so that’s his decision. I wanted to try to play for five or 10 more minutes because in goal I was feeling good,” Courtois told reporters after the FIFA World Cup 2026 match in Inglewood.

The 34-year-old said he had felt an ache as he launched a long kick early in the second half. “I felt something here in my muscle. Then, I did some saves, I felt okay, so I thought, okay, we’ll continue. Then I kicked again long and I felt it a bit more.”

He added, “I was making the saves, and I was not disturbed to make those saves. I was only disturbed to kick long. So that’s a decision of the coach, and that’s not a problem.”

Nevertheless, Courtois backed Manchester United custodian Lammens after the costly error. “Senne, obviously, I gave him a big hug. I know, for goalkeepers, this is a shit feeling, and he’s a great goalkeeper, and he will only get stronger from this. He will have some holidays and then regroup in Manchester and have a great season.”

Meanwhile, Garcia rued the injury to Courtois, deeming it ⁠a key moment for Belgium. “Losing him during the game – that was a hard hit to take,” Garcia said. “When you start racking up the years you need to always be at ⁠100% of capacity. Because if you are not… it can be problematic.”

“Thibaut was there to keep the ball out of the net, but unfortunately to beat a team of this calibre… the stars weren’t aligned.”

As for his future with Belgium, Real Madrid star Courtois said he might take a break from international action and come back for the 2028 Euros’ qualifying games. “Regarding my future with the national team, we’ll see. I’d like to perhaps take a break from the Nations League, which isn’t that important, and maybe return for the Euro qualifying campaign.”

Belgium’s veteran goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has revealed that he wanted to stay on in the quarter-final despite his leg injury, and that the decision to replace him with Senne Lammens was made by coach Rudi Garcia. The move backfired as Lammens failed to pouch a long-range shot from Pau Cubarsi in the 88th minute, which led to Mikel Merino smashing home the rebound that handed Spain a 2-1 win.

“Obviously I wanted to continue, but the coach wanted someone 100 per cent, so that’s his decision. I wanted to try to play for five or 10 more minutes because in goal I was feeling good,” Courtois told reporters after the FIFA World Cup 2026 match in Inglewood.

The 34-year-old said he had felt an ache as he launched a long kick early in the second half. “I felt something here in my muscle. Then, I did some saves, I felt okay, so I thought, okay, we’ll continue. Then I kicked again long and I felt it a bit more.”

He added, “I was making the saves, and I was not disturbed to make those saves. I was only disturbed to kick long. So that’s a decision of the coach, and that’s not a problem.”

Nevertheless, Courtois backed Manchester United custodian Lammens after the costly error. “Senne, obviously, I gave him a big hug. I know, for goalkeepers, this is a shit feeling, and he’s a great goalkeeper, and he will only get stronger from this. He will have some holidays and then regroup in Manchester and have a great season.”

Meanwhile, Garcia rued the injury to Courtois, deeming it ⁠a key moment for Belgium. “Losing him during the game – that was a hard hit to take,” Garcia said. “When you start racking up the years you need to always be at ⁠100% of capacity. Because if you are not… it can be problematic.”

“Thibaut was there to keep the ball out of the net, but unfortunately to beat a team of this calibre… the stars weren’t aligned.”

As for his future with Belgium, Real Madrid star Courtois said he might take a break from international action and come back for the 2028 Euros’ qualifying games. “Regarding my future with the national team, we’ll see. I’d like to perhaps take a break from the Nations League, which isn’t that important, and maybe return for the Euro qualifying campaign.”