Belgium goalkeeper injured, leaves World Cup quarterfinal vs. Spain

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Belgium was forced into a goalkeeper change during the second half of its World Cup quarterfinal against Spain on Friday, July 10 in Inglewood, California.

With the score tied 1-1, Thibaut Courtois appeared to injure his leg midway through the second half. He sat on the ground gripping his left thigh.

Belgium medics tended to the Real Madrid goalkeeper on the field and he returned to the pitch with his teammates after the second-half hydration break. But Courtois quickly signaled for a replacement, and Senne Lammens entered the match in the 71st minute.

Courtois was emotional on the bench as he realized his World Cup may be over, whether or not Belgium gets past Spain.

The 34-year-old joins Belgium's growing injury list. Amadou Onana is out after tearing his ACL during Belgium's win against the USA in the round of 16.

Youri Tielemans, Belgium's captain and lynchpin in midfield, was injured during warm-ups ahead of the Spain game.

LIVE: Spain vs Belgium World Cup thriller tied late, score and highlights


Thibaut Courtois was visibly emotional after having to sub off for Belgium

Senne Lammens comes on to replace him pic.twitter.com/SAf0VxNdaZ

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 10, 2026

Lammens made just his third senior appearance for Belgium when entering the pitch at SoFi Stadium.

The 24-year-old made 45 appearances for Manchester United in 2025-26 after joining early in the season from Royal Antwerp.

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World Cup knockout round format​


The World Cup becomes a single-elimination tournament once the knockout stage begins. The 32 remaining teams have been placed into a bracket, and the field will halve itself during each ensuing round of the tournament until a winner is crowned.

The lone exception is that the two semifinal losers will play in a third-place game ahead of the World Cup final.

Full World Cup knockout stage bracket, matchups, schedule​

Round of 16​

  • July 4: France def Paraguay - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
  • July 4: Morocco def Canada - Houston
  • July 5: Norway def Brazil - East Rutherford
  • July 5: England def Mexico - Mexico City
  • July 6: Spain def Portugal - Arlington
  • July 6: Belgium def USA - Seattle
  • July 7: Argentina def Egypt - Atlanta
  • July 7: Switzerland def Colombia - Vancouver

Quarterfinals​

  • July 9: France def Morocco - Foxborough
  • July 10: ESP vs. BEL - Inglewood
  • July 11: NOR vs. ENG - Miami
  • July 11: ARG vs. SWI - Kansas City

Semifinals​

  • July 14: Foxborough/Inglewood winners - Arlington
  • July 15: Miami/Kansas City winners - Atlanta

Final​

  • July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Belgium goalkeeper injured, leaves World Cup quarterfinal vs. Spain

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