‘The manager decided to take me off,’ Thibaut Courtois reveals he could have continued in Belgium’s loss to Spain

While there was a team expected to reach the semifinal of the 2026 World Cup in Spain, injuries were a huge factor for Belgium. The loss of Youri Tielemans before the match began was joined by Thibaut Courtois‘ muscle issue that made Rudi García substitute him out.

Courtois said: “I felt a lot of pain in my quadriceps. But I had no problem staying in goal, only taking long kicks. In the end, the manager decided to take me off. That’s no problem because the team comes above everything.”

It was a 2-1 loss made even more painful by how it ended. Courtois was attended by the medical staff before being replaced by Senne Lammens in the 71st minute. The issue was that Lammens left a rebound for Mikel Merino to score near the end after a weak shot from Pau Cubarsí.

Courtois wants a long break

There’s no denying that Courtois has made history with Belgium, not just by representing his country at club level with Real Madrid but also by being the national team’s goalkeeper for many years.

That period did not come without problems, as he had already been exiled from the team from mid-2023 to 2025 after a disagreement with former manager Domenico Tedesco about the captaincy. Now, he admitted he wants to take a long break from international duty before returning.

Courtois said: “I’d like to take a break from the Nations League, which isn’t that important, and return for the Euro qualifying campaign. It’s a decision that has to be made together with the federation. If they agree with that plan. Otherwise, today would have been my last match.”

Courtois on Real Madrid

Clubs are already making moves to be ready when the competition ends, with Real Madrid among the most active after also hiring José Mourinho as their new manager. Courtois said: “Real Madrid have signed good players and a top manager. Now it’s up to us to respond.”