Thibaut Courtois, the goalkeeper of the Belgian national team, defended his team's performance in the 2026 World Cup, ahead of their match against Spain in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
The Belgian national team began its journey in the 2026 World Cup with a 1-1 draw against Egypt, followed by a goalless draw with Iran, but then woke up and secured victories against New Zealand, Senegal, and the United States to reach the quarter-finals.
Thibaut Courtois said in statements reported by the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia: "People have misjudged us.. The Egyptian national team has proven that it is not a weak opponent".
The Real Madrid goalkeeper added: "Although we were unable to score against Iran, we did not play badly; the opponents were dropping deep and then saying we lacked rhythm".
He continued: "In the other matches, which were more open, we delivered a good performance. Some felt disappointed with us after the first two matches, but we made up for it, and we are continuously improving".
Regarding the match against Spain, he said: "It is a team strongly favored to win the World Cup alongside Argentina and France this year.. They have Lamine Yamal, who is a star, but we are not focusing on him alone because Spain has many strengths".
Thibaut Courtois concluded his statements by saying: "For us, the top priority is to score a goal and then not concede any.. We know they also have very distinguished players on the bench, so we must remain fully focused throughout 100 minutes or more".
The United States is hosting the 2026 World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada, with the participation of 48 teams for the first time in the tournament's history, from June 11 to July 19.
