Spain are the overwhelming favourites to see off Belgium and advance to the World Cup semi-finals, but to do that they will have to get past a familiar face: Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Courtois has spent the last eight years in Madrid after joining from Chelsea in 2018, at which point he was already established as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
He has enhanced that reputation at the Santiago Bernabeu, helping Madrid win three La Liga titles and two Champions League crowns.
The 6ft 7in stopper will be the last line of the Belgium defence in Los Angeles on Friday night and his opposite number Unai Simon was full of praise for the 34-year-old.
Simon told AS: “His physique makes him occupy a lot of goal. He gets big and it’s hard to score past him. Sometimes it seems that those tall goalkeepers can have a weak point in coordination or speed but Courtois has shown that he has great skill with the ball, that his movements are fast in the goal and that he handles all parts of the area well. He is a very complete goalkeeper with physical qualities that few goalkeepers have.”
Spain midfielder Dani Olmo agreed, adding: “Belgium have one of the best goalkeepers in the world, if not the best. They have several players who can make a difference and we have to be careful.”
Courtois describes Spain as a “second home” for him now but will have no divided loyalties on Friday night when the teams clash at SoFi Stadium.
He said: “I’ve been living in Spain for 11 years, that’s a long time. In the end I will always be Belgian, even though Spain is a second home for me and I will probably continue to live there after my career. On Friday, only Belgium counts.”
Belgium’s underdog status rekindles memories of the 2018 World Cup in Russia when the Red Devils’ ‘Golden Generation’ overcame Brazil 2-1 in the quarter-finals.
“Individually, we may have had more quality back then, but now we have a stronger collective,” said Courtois. “We will fight. We already showed that at the end of the match against Senegal. We will continue to believe until the end and that is also a strength at a World Cup.
“It’s fun when you play well, but the most important thing is to win games. Everyone knows it’s possible. We have a good team. We have qualities that can hurt Spain.
“In football, everything is possible. In every tournament there are surprises: Champions League, Europa League, European Championships and World Cups, even in the regular leagues. I think we can take care of them, it would be a big result to eliminate Spain. There is a lot of confidence in our team.”
Team news for Spain v Belgium
Luis de la Fuente has no new injuries to contend with and is likely to name the same XI that beat Portugal. That means matchwinner Mikel Merino will again be among the substitutes.
Belgium boss Rudi Garcia will have to make one change with Amadou Onana sustaining an ACL tear during the 4-1 win over the United States. Onana’s injury seemingly paved the way for Kevin De Bruyne to come off the bench but Garcia opted for the more physical Hans Vanaken.
Jeremy Doku was also dropped for the USA game and the Manchester City star is unlikely to force his way back into the XI.
Predicted line-ups for Spain v Belgium
Spain: Simon; Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Baena; Oyarzabal
Belgium: Courtois; Castagne, Mechele, Ngoy, De Cuyper; Raskin, Tielemans, Vanaken; Trossard, Lukebakio, De Ketelaere
Where to watch Spain v Belgium: TV and online streams
Spain versus Belgium kicks off tomorrow night at 8pm UK time. You can watch it on BBC One and stream via the BBC iPlayer.
Stats for Spain v Belgium
- Spain have not lost any of their last 35 matches
- Spain have yet to concede a goal at this World Cup
- This is Spain’s sixth World Cup quarter-final
- Spain have won nine of their last 11 games against Belgium
- Belgium have advanced from two of their previous three World Cup quarter-finals
- Belgium have not lost any of their last 18 matches
Prediction for Spain v Belgium
Belgium have done remarkably well to reach this stage but we think this is where their journey ends.
Spain have too much quality and should cruise through with few alarms.
Prediction: Spain 3-0 Belgium
