Thibaut Courtois was left in tears after being forced off with a leg injury in the 70th minute of Belgium’s World Cup quarter-final against Spain – and then watched his replacement make the mistake that sent the Red Devils home.
The Real Madrid goalkeeper went down clutching his leg and soon realised he could not continue. He left the pitch visibly emotional as his number went up, replaced by Manchester United’s Senne Lammens for his World Cup debut. At 34, after playing in four previous World Cups, it may prove to be Courtois’ final act on the global stage.
“Courtois forced off injured, replaced by Lammens who makes error as Merino scores winner for Spain.”
BBC commentator Danny Murphy initially suggested Courtois was feigning injury, prompting a furious backlash from fans. “Epic fail from Danny Murphy, mocking Courtois for faking an injury moments before he has to leave the pitch distraught,” one wrote. Another said: “Danny Murphy should be sacked immediately for suggesting Courtois was faking injury.” A third added: “Danny Murphy has done Courtois really dirty there!”
Murphy later apologised, saying: “Well I did him a disservice, it was a genuine injury. We thought it was one of the normal tactical breaks but he’s obviously devastated. Something’s happened where he is unable to carry on, and the tears suggest it might be a little bit worse.”
And the change led to a cruel twist. With the scores level at 1-1 after Fabian Ruiz had opened the scoring for Spain and Charles De Ketelaere equalised for Belgium, Pau Cubarsi’s shot from range was spilled by Lammens. Mikel Merino pounced to fire in an 88th-minute winner – the Arsenal midfielder’s second late decider in as many knockout games after also scoring against Portugal in the last 16.
“Lammens has been thrown on late in the game and it is the first thing he has really had to do,” Murphy said. “He stops it but doesn't really get it out of danger and Merino is first on the scene.”
Courtois’ setback was the latest blow for Belgium after captain Youri Tielemans picked up a suspected hamstring injury in the warm-up, replaced by Hans Vanaken just 12 minutes before kick-off. Then, with five minutes to play, Kevin De Bruyne was replaced by Alexis Saelemaekers after going down with cramp.
Spain will now face France in the semi-finals in Texas on Tuesday, a stage they last reached in 2010 when they went on to win the tournament.