The moment Thibaut Courtois grabbed his leg and signaled to the bench, you could feel the air leave the stadium. Belgium’s nightmare scenario played out in real time.
The Real Madrid keeper went down in the 70th minute of the World Cup quarterfinal against Spain. He knew before the medical staff did. Courtois walked off the pitch with tears in his eyes, his number lighting up on the substitution board. At 34 and having played in five World Cups, there’s a real chance that was his last walk off that stage.
In came Senne Lammens, the 24-year-old Manchester United backup making his World Cup debut. The kind of moment goalkeepers dream about — and also the kind that can break you.
It broke him.
With two minutes left in regulation, Spain’s Pau Cubarsi let one fly from distance. It wasn’t a rocket. It wasn’t even placed in the corner. Lammens got both hands on it but couldn’t control the rebound. The ball squirted out into the six-yard box, and there was Mikel Merino to slam it home. Same guy who scored the late winner in the round of 16. Two knockout games, two late deciders for the Arsenal midfielder.
“Lammens has been thrown on late in the game and it is the first thing he has really had to do,” Danny Murphy said on BBC’s broadcast. “He stops it but doesn’t really get it out of danger and Merino is first on the scene.”
Belgium’s Bad Luck Went Beyond the Net
The Courtois injury wasn’t even the only last-minute setback for Belgium. Captain Youri Tielemans pulled up with a suspected hamstring issue during warm-ups, forcing Hans Vanaken into the starting XI just 12 minutes before kickoff. Then Kevin De Bruyne went down with cramps and was replaced by Alexis Saelemaekers with five minutes left. Three key players lost in one game. That’s not a tactical problem. That’s a curse.
Despite all that, Belgium actually played well for most of the night in Los Angeles. Charles De Ketelaere nodded home a deserved equalizer after Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring for Spain. They looked organized, dangerous, and fully capable of getting the job done.
Then Lammens spilled it. And Courtois watched from the sideline, not even trying to hide the look on his face.
Spain moves on to a semifinal against France. Belgium heads home wondering what could have been if their star goalkeeper didn’t break down — and if the guy behind him was just a little bit steadier.
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