Thibaut Courtois said Belgium left the United States with more than a quarterfinal berth. It left with a grievance, too. After Belgium beat the USMNT 4-1 in the Round of 16, the Belgium goalkeeper said the talk around the match had underestimated his side and that the result showed otherwise.
“In recent days, we have been disrespected here in the United States,” Courtois said after the match. “It was being said that they could beat us easily, but I think today we showed that we are a good team.” Belgium is now into a quarterfinal against Spain, and Courtois made clear the mood inside the squad was not just relief. “We played a great match,” he said.
The score line also fit the way Belgium wanted the game to go. Courtois said the plan was to pin the United States back from the start and create chances, and he suggested the pressure built as the match wore on. He also pointed to the 5-2 friendly win over the USMNT as something that may have lingered in the American camp. “Perhaps the 5-2 defeat against us in the friendly was affecting them,” he said.
What made the comments land harder was the contrast with Courtois’s own view of Belgium’s path. He said he had more confidence in this win than he had before the match against Senegal, even though he described Senegal as a better team than the United States. He also laughed off the rescinded red card for Folarin Balogun, saying he had read about it and was amused. For Belgium, the performance silenced the doubts that followed the comeback against Senegal and carried the team into a meeting with Spain.
That quarterfinal has its own edge for Courtois. He called Spain his second country and said the match would be special. Then he added the sort of line that only a family can produce under tournament pressure: his young son would have to support Belgium, or he would not be allowed back home. Belgium’s run now turns from one public argument to the next test, and the goalkeeper who started this one with a complaint is the same one who will have to answer it against Spain.
