Courtois reveals thigh injury cost him his place as Belgium fall to Spain in World Cup quarter-final

Thibaut Courtois has revealed a muscular thigh problem forced him off during Belgium’s World Cup 2026 quarter-final defeat to Spain, though the Real Madrid goalkeeper insists he felt capable of playing on when coach Rudi Garcia made the substitution in the 70th minute.

Courtois was visibly emotional as he left the pitch clutching his left thigh, with Belgium level at the time. His replacement, Manchester United stopper Senne Lammens, conceded a late goal to Mikel Merino that ended Belgium’s tournament and sent Spain into the semi-finals.

“It was with a long kick at the beginning of the second half; I felt something near my muscle,” Courtois said in the post-match mixed zone. “I made some saves. I felt okay, so I continued. Then, I kicked it long again and I felt it a bit more. So then, you know it’s something muscular, and you need to be careful.”

The 33-year-old accepted Garcia’s call but made clear he would have preferred to stay on. “Obviously, I wanted to continue but the coach wanted someone 100%,” he said. “I wanted to try to play maybe five, 10 more minutes to see because I was feeling good. I was making 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 it’s not a problem.”

Courtois was quick to defend Lammens after the error that proved decisive, describing the younger goalkeeper as having a “strong personality” who will emerge stronger from the experience. “I gave him a big hug — there’s not much more I can do at this moment,” Courtois said. “He’s a great goalkeeper and he will only get stronger from this.”

On his own immediate future, Courtois acknowledged the timing of the injury is a concern. “For me personally, obviously you are not happy when you have to leave a quarter-final of a World Cup. So we will rest for the next few weeks and then see what the injury is.”

Spain now advance to face France in the semi-finals in Dallas on Tuesday, a rematch of the Euro 2024 semi-final that Spain won 2-1.