Thibaut Courtois leaves pitch in tears with injury as Spain knock Belgium out of World Cup
Thibaut Courtois left the pitch in tears after he was forced off with an injury during Belgium’s World Cup quarter-final defeat to Spain on Friday.
The Real Madrid goalkeeper suffered an injury to his left thigh in the second half but after receiving treatment on the pitch from Belgium’s medical staff he was unable to continue.
Courtois was replaced by Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens and was visibly upset as he was consoled by Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia before he made his way to the bench.
The injury was an additional blow for Belgium as their captain, Youri Tielemans, was ruled out of the game after suffering a hamstring injury in the warm-up.
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Lammens then made an error for Spain’s winner in the 88th minute as he spilled Pau Curbasi’s effort which then fell to Mikel Merino, who found the net from close range.
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Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring for Spain in the 30th minute but Charles De Ketelaere equalised for Belgium with a header 11 minutes later.
Spain will now play France in the World Cup semi-final on July 14.
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Article source: https://metro.co.uk/2026/07/10/thibaut-courtois-leaves-pitch-tears-injury-belgium-vs-spain-29107112/