Thibaut Courtois, the goalkeeper of the Belgian national team, confirmed that he could have continued in the match against Spain, indicating that Rudy Garcia, the team's technical director, was the one who insisted on substituting him.
Spain's national team defeated its counterpart, Belgium, two goals to one, in the match that brought the two teams together, on Friday evening, at Los Angeles Stadium, for the quarter-final round of the 2026 World Cup.
Thibaut Courtois left the Spain match against Belgium a quarter of an hour before the end of the match, following an injury he sustained, when the score at the time indicated a draw, goal for goal, but La Roja managed to score the second goal in the net of the substitute goalkeeper, Senne Lammens.
Thibaut Courtois said in statements reported by the Belgian newspaper Nieuwsblad: "In the second half, I felt very good and saved several balls.. At that time, I wanted to continue on the pitch, but I kicked the ball twice, and the second time I felt pain in my thigh muscles".
The Real Madrid goalkeeper added: "I indicated that I could not kick the ball for a longer period, but I could have stayed in goal, but the coach said if you are not 100% ready, I will substitute you".
He continued: "That is why I wanted to continue playing at first, but the coach decided to substitute me.. No problem with that.. The team's interest comes first, of course".
He added: "In the second half, I felt that I was playing a strong match, I caught a dangerous cross, and saved a shot from Lamine Yamal.. I felt that I was improving gradually, and it was difficult for Spain to score the second goal, so it was unfortunate to be substituted, but the team's interest is more important".
He continued: "Of course it is unfortunate that Lammens was unable to catch the ball in Spain's second goal, but this is football, I and my fellow goalkeepers went to hug him.. You cannot say much at that moment, but Senne is an excellent goalkeeper, and a bright future awaits him".
He went on: "We were facing Spain, which is a very good team, and when they scored the second goal, it became difficult to create more chances.. Perhaps this is something that needs to be worked on in the future".
Thibaut Courtois concluded his statements by saying: "We can still be proud of what we presented and the beautiful moments we lived.. We are the only team that scored in Spain's net, and they faced great difficulty against us.. We were eliminated by the current European champions".
