Thibaut Courtois has backed his Belgium teammate Senne Lammens to "get stronger from this" after the Manchester United goalkeeper made an error for Mikel Merino's winner in Belgium's 2-1 World Cup quarterfinal loss to Spain.
With the scores level in the 88th minute, Lammens spilled a long-range shot from Pau Cubarsí, allowing Merino to touch the ball home and send Spain to the semifinals.
"Senne, yeah I gave him a big hug, much more I cannot do," Courtois said after the game. "For goalkeepers it's a s--- 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 was introduced in the 71st minute after Courtois left the pitch in tears having picked up a muscle injury, a decision from head coach Rudi Garcia that the Real Madrid goalkeeper said he disagreed with, but respected.
"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," Courtois 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."
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With Belgium eliminated from the World Cup, Courtois, 34, said he would discuss his international future with the relevant staff.
"Ultimately, it's something we need to discuss with the coach and [Belgium sporting director] Vincent Mannaert," he 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."
