Thibaut Courtois has thrown his support behind Belgium team-mate Senne Lammens after the goalkeeper’s late mistake sent the Red Devils crashing out of the World Cup.
Lammens spilled a long-range effort from Pau Cubarsi in the 88th minute, allowing Mikel Merino to bundle home the winner and send Spain into the semi-finals.
The Manchester United goalkeeper was visibly distraught after the final whistle, but Courtois insisted the error would not define his career.
“Senne, yeah I gave him a big hug, much more I cannot do,” Courtois said after the match.
“For goalkeepers it’s a s**t feeling.
“He’s a great goalkeeper and he’ll only get stronger from this, so it’s not a problem. Eventually you cannot say much more to him, much more advice.
“He’s a strong guy, a strong personality and I’m sure he’ll be fine.
“He’ll have a holidays, he’ll regroup, he’ll go to Manchester and have a great season – I have no doubt about this.”
Lammens had only entered the match in the 71st minute after replacing Courtois, who was forced off with a muscle problem.
Courtois disagreed with substitution decision
The Real Madrid goalkeeper revealed he wanted to continue despite feeling discomfort during the second half.
Courtois first experienced the issue following a long kick shortly after the interval but believed he was capable of finishing the game.
“Yeah it was with a long kick at the beginning at the second half that I felt something near my muscle, then I did some saves, I felt OK so I thought OK we’ll continue, and then I kicked again and felt it a bit more,” he said.
“Obviously I wanted to continue but the coach wanted someone 100%, and that’s OK, it’s his decision.
“I wanted to wait five, 10 more minutes to see because in goal, I was feeling good, I was making the saves.
“That’s the decision of the coach, and that’s not a problem.”
Belgium future remains uncertain
With Belgium’s World Cup campaign over, Courtois admitted he will hold talks over his international future before making a decision on whether to continue.
The 34-year-old suggested he could step away from Nations League duty to manage his workload before potentially returning for major tournament qualifiers.
“Ultimately, it’s something we need to discuss with the coach and Vincent Mannaert,” Courtois said.
“It might be good to take a break from the Nations League for a year – to find some breathing room in a hectic schedule – and then return for the qualifiers and potentially the Euros.
“But in the end, that’s a decision for the coach and the federation.
“If they don’t see it that way, I’ll have to consider whether or not I can keep coming back. Otherwise, today might have been my last match.
“Maybe I’m leaning more towards continuing than stopping, but we’ll see.
“Ultimately, it’s something we need to discuss with Vincent and the coach.
“We’ll see what their perspective is, and then we can make a decision.”
