Belgium’s World Cup run ended in Los Angeles when Thibaut Courtois went off injured in the second half and Senne Lammens, his replacement, made the error that led to Mikel Merino’s winner for Spain. The quarter-final swung in a few brutal minutes at SoFi Stadium, and Belgium were out.
The result mattered because Courtois had been the one constant in a team that lost its captain, Youri Tielemans, to injury in the warm-up and then lost its goalkeeper at the decisive moment. Lammens came on under pressure and then fluffed his lines on the play that decided the match, a mistake that will sit alongside Belgium’s exit long after the final whistle.
Courtois did not turn on the younger goalkeeper afterward. He said he gave Lammens “a big hug” and called him “a great goalkeeper,” adding that “you only get stronger from this.” He also said there was only so much more advice he could offer, and described Lammens as “a strong guy” with a strong personality who would be fine. That soft landing mattered because the mistake directly helped end Belgium’s quarter-final, even as the senior keeper tried to take the blame out of it.
There is a larger backdrop to the defeat. Belgium’s recent high point was framed as the peak of the Golden Generation, with 2018 treated as the team’s real summit, and this loss felt like another hard step in the unwind. Spain move on to face France in the semi-final, while Belgium are left with the sort of rebuilding questions that usually follow a tournament exit built on injuries, pressure and one error at the back.
The biggest unresolved issue is Courtois himself. Reports suggested he was considering one year off from international football before returning for the Euro 2028 qualifiers, which would make Belgium’s goalkeeping picture even more delicate. For now, though, the story is simpler: Belgium were knocked out, Lammens was left carrying the mistake, and Courtois tried to steady him by saying he would have holidays, regroup in Manchester and have a great season.
