Thibaut Courtois goes off in tears as Belgium goalkeeper is substituted in second half

Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was visibly distraught after he was forced to come off with an injury against Spain.

Courtois dropped to the turf just before the second half hydration break and pointed to his upper left leg.

AFP

It appeared the Belgian gloveman sustained the injury when pulling off a save.

Despite his best efforts to continue, Courtois had to call it a day and was replaced by Senne Lammens.

Courtois cut a devastated figure as he exited the field, prompting several Belgian coaches and players to console him.

The Real Madrid star then cut a helpless figure on the bench as he watched Lammens make a brutal error to hand Spain a 2-1 lead late in their quarter-final tie after Belgium’s Charles De Ketelaere cancelled out Fabian Ruiz’s opener.

Lammens failed to hold on to a strike from distance, allowing Spain’s Mikel Merino to slam home from close range.

Merino’s goal came two minutes after he was subbed on for Dani Olmo, marking the second consecutive game in which he netted a crucial late goal for Spain.

It ultimately proved to be the winner as Spain punched their ticket to the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in 16 years.

Red Devils’ horror injury streak

Courtois’ mid-game withdrawal extended Belgium’s wretched run with injuries at the World Cup.

The Red Devils lost captain Youri Tielemans just before kick-off as he picked up an issue during the warm-up.

Tielemans, who had played nearly every minute of Belgium’s World Cup campaign up until that point, was replaced by Hans Vanaken in the starting line-up.

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Belgium had also been blocked by Portuguese side Sporting from making defender Zeno Debast available to play.

Sporting ‘did not consider him medically fit’, an assessment that differed to Belgium’s analysis.

Prior to the defeat against Spain, Debast had not played at the World Cup having sustained a leg injury late on in Sporting’s season.

The Red Devils were also without star midfielder Amadou Onana, who tore his ACL in their 4-1 win over the United States in the round of 16.

Onana picked up the injury in the first half and returned to Belgium’s bench with a set of crutches.