Spain will face Belgium on Friday night – with a place in the World Cup semi-finals at stake.
Spain are overwhelming favourites to beat Belgium and advance to the World Cup semi-finals. But to do that, they must first pass a familiar face: Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Read: Molde, who lost to Los Angeles FC this winter, submits million-dollar bid today
Courtois has spent the last eight years in Madrid after his move from Chelsea in 2018 – by which time he was already established as one of the world’s best goalkeepers.
He has only strengthened his reputation at the Santiago Bernabéu, with three La Liga titles and two Champions League trophies on his conscience.
The 201 centimeter tall last line will be Belgium’s last line of defense in Los Angeles on Friday night. His counterpart Unai Simón is full of praise for the 34-year-old.
Simón said to AS:
“His physique means that he covers large parts of the goal. He’s going to be big, and it’s hard to score on him. Sometimes it seems like such tall goalkeepers can have a weak spot when it comes to coordination or speed – but Courtois has shown that he has great technical prowess with the ball, that his movements are quick in the goal, and that he has a good command of all parts of the field. He is a very complete goalkeeper with physical qualities that few others have.
Spain midfielder Dani Olmo agreed, adding:
“Belgium has one of the world’s best goalkeepers – 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 himself now – but he will not feel any conflict of loyalty on Friday night, when the teams meet at SoFi Stadium.
He said:
“I’ve lived in Spain for 11 years – that’s a long time. At the end of the day, 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 role as an underdog brings back memories of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, when the Red Devils beat Brazil 2-1 in the quarter-finals.
“Individually, we may have had more quality back then, but now we have a stronger collective,” says Courtois.
“We want to fight. We already showed that at the end of the game against Senegal. We will continue to believe until the end – and that is also a strength in 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 – the Champions League, Europa League, the European Championship, and the World Cup, even in the regular leagues. I think we can take them – it would be a big result to knock out Spain. There is a lot of confidence in our team.
Team news Spain – Belgium
Luis de la Fuente has no new injuries to deal with, and will probably field the same eleven that beat Portugal. This means that match winner Mikel Merino will once again start on the bench.
Belgium coach Rudi García will have to make one change – Amadou Onana suffered a cruciate ligament injury in the 4-1 win over the United States. The injury apparently opened the door for Kevin De Bruyne to come in, but García opted for the more physical Hans Vanaken instead.
Jérémy Doku was also dropped against the United States, and the Manchester City star is unlikely to be back in the starting eleven anytime soon.
Predicted line-ups
Spain: Simón – Porro, Cubarsí, Laporte, Cucurella – Rodri, Pedri – Yamal, Olmo, Baena – Oyarzabal
Belgium: Courtois – Castagne, Mechele, Ngoy, De Cuyper – Raskin, Tielemans, Vanaken – Trossard, Lukebakio, De Ketelaere
Key figures – Spain v Belgium
- Spain have not lost any of their last 35 matches
- Spain have yet to concede a goal in this World Cup
- This is Spain’s sixth World Cup quarter-final
- Spain have won nine of their last 11 matches against Belgium
- Belgium have progressed from two of their three previous World Cup quarter-finals
- Belgium have not lost any of their last 18 matches
Prediction for Spain – Belgium
Belgium have done remarkably well to reach this stage – but we think their journey ends here.
Spain simply has too much quality, and should sail safely on without the big dramas.
Prediction: Spain 3-0 Belgium
Read on F7: Fulham secure Oscar Bobb and Sander Berge “the perfect” coach
