INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Belgium suffered a crucial blow in their World Cup quarterfinal loss against Spain on Friday when goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was substituted in the 71st minute with a muscle injury.
The longtime Real Madrid keeper needed assistance from the Belgium training staff after being slow to get up midway through the second half while grabbing his thigh, but looked set to continue after the hydration break only to be replaced by Senne Lammens when the players returned to the field.
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A visibly upset Courtois was embraced by coach Rudi Garcia as he left the pitch with Belgium and Spain locked in a 1-1 draw. Just 17 minutes later, Courtois watched as his replacement, Lammens, spilled a shot from Pau Cubarsà and Mikel Merino pounced to score for Spain and send Belgium home.
Speaking after the loss, Garcia said that Courtois wanted to continue but he made a decision to take him off as he could no longer take long kicks.
"It's part and parcel of high-level sport," Garcia told a news conference. "You need to be concentrated and able to perform for these types of games. From the beginning of World Cup I didn't want players on the pitch who were not 100 percent and that was Courtois today.
"He was excellent throughout the World Cup, but we didn't want his injury to get worse and that is why we took him off.
"What is important tonight is he had a muscular injury. He is one of the best goalkeepers in the world and so losing him was a hard hit to take."
Courtois was appearing in his 21st World Cup match, the second-most in tournament history for goalkeepers behind Germany's Manuel Neuer.
Courtois made 10 saves and allowed five goals in Belgium's first five matches at this year's World Cup.
Garcia was also asked about comments made by Courtois following the game that he planned on taking a year off from the national team after its exit from the World Cup. However, the French coach said that Courtois had not told him, the federation or any of his teammates in the dressing room that was his plan.
Courtois' injury was a second blow for Belgium after already getting bad news before the game even started. Midfielder Youri Tielemans had earlier been listed in Garcia's starting XI when the lineups came out, but he picked up an undisclosed injury during warmups and was replaced by Hans Vanaken when the players took the field at SoFi Stadium.
Tielemans had been a key player for Belgium in their run to the quarterfinals, featuring in every match during the group stage and scoring twice in a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Senegal in the round of 32.
He also started for Belgium in their round-of-16 win to eliminate co-hosts the United States. The only minutes that Tielemans had previously been off the field for Belgium in this tournament were the final six minutes of a 5-1 win over New Zealand in the group stage.
Vanaken came on as a substitute and scored a goal in Belgium's 4-1 thrashing of the U.S. on Monday. He replaced Amadou Onana, who has been ruled out for the rest of the World Cup with a torn knee ligament.
Belgium have also played the World Cup without defender Zeno Debast, who has a leg injury and has been held out of action by his club, Sporting CP.
In addition to the switch for the injured Tielemans, Garcia also brought Kevin De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku back into his XI after the pair started from the bench in the win over the U.S.
Fabián Ruiz scored in the 30th minute for Spain, but Belgium forward Charles De Ketelaere scored the first goal allowed by Spain in the entire World Cup in the 41st minute.
Spain will face France in the semifinals in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
