Belgium lose Courtois to injury and concede as Spain edge World Cup quarter-final

Thibaut Courtois limped off with a right leg injury in the 71st minute of Belgium’s World Cup quarter-final against Spain at Los Angeles Stadium on Friday, and his replacement Senne Lammens conceded within minutes as Spain took a 2-1 lead through Mikel Merino.

The match had been finely balanced at 1-1 when Courtois departed. Fabian Ruiz had given Spain the lead in the 30th minute, only for Charles De Ketelaere to equalise for Belgium eleven minutes later. The game appeared to be heading into a tense final quarter when Courtois went down and was unable to continue.

Lammens, stepping in as Belgium’s backup, could not hold Merino’s shot, and the rebound crept over the line to restore Spain’s advantage late in the contest. The concession underlined the enormity of losing Courtois, who has been the cornerstone of Belgium’s goalkeeping for over a decade.

Lammens became the first goalkeeper to represent Belgium at a World Cup other than Courtois since Geert De Vlieger faced Brazil in 2002 — a measure of just how dominant Courtois has been for the national side.

The Belgian medical staff had not issued an official update on the severity of the injury or Courtois’ availability for the remainder of the tournament at the time of writing, leaving significant uncertainty over whether he could return should Belgium progress past Spain.