{"id":544954,"date":"2026-07-11T20:19:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T20:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/544954\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T20:19:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T20:19:08","slug":"rudi-garcia-faces-belgian-backlash-for-taking-courtois-off-in-world-cup-loss-to-spain-belgium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/544954\/","title":{"rendered":"Rudi Garcia faces Belgian backlash for taking Courtois off in World Cup loss to Spain | Belgium"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rudi Garcia came under a barrage of fire for replacing his injured first-choice goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, in Belgium\u2019s World Cup<\/a> quarter-final defeat by Spain on Friday, adding to questions about the coach\u2019s \u2060future.<\/p>\n

Courtois felt he could continue \u2060despite a twinge in \u200bhis leg, but Garcia insisted that he came off as he was not 100% fit. Senne Lammens went on as his replacement after 71 minutes but spilt a low strike by Pau \u2060Cubars\u00ed, allowing the Spain substitute Mikel Merino to pounce in the 86th minute and secure a 2-1 victory.<\/p>\n

Garcia\u2019s insistence on taking off Courtois attracted the ire of Belgian analysts, such as the commentator Peter Vandenbempt. \u201cYou substitute the \u2060best goalkeeper in the world during a World Cup quarter-final because he can no longer kick long balls … astonishing! I simply cannot fathom \u200bit,\u201d he said on Belgian radio. \u201cThe only explanation is that \u200cGarcia clings to rigid principles. Not \u200c100% fit? Then you\u2019re out. But surely someone like Courtois knows what he is and isn\u2019t capable of?\u201c<\/p>\n

The Belgian head coach explained his philosophy clearly, however. \u201cSince \u200cthe start of the World Cup, I\u2019ve said only players who are 100% physically fit are allowed to play. That applies to Thibaut as well. We needed his long balls \u2014 first to Charles [De Ketelaere], then to Romelu [Lukaku]. We didn\u2019t want Thibaut\u2019s injury to get worse. So, I have no regrets about the decision to substitute him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mikel Merino scores Spain\u2019s winner after Belgium keeper Senne Lammens spilled the ball. Photograph: David Ramos\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Garcia\u2019s decision is sure to be among the issues discussed when his contract is reviewed before the end of the month, when his deal expires. The 62-year-old Frenchman, who won the \u200cLigue 1 title with Lille in 2011, was appointed at the start of 2025 and tasked with breathing new life into the team after the tenure of Domenico Tedesco, which was described as toxic and soulless.<\/p>\n

Staying in the top tier of the Nations League was Garcia\u2019s first task and was successfully achieved, as was World Cup qualification. The target of reaching the last eight was also met, adding another a tick next to the coach\u2019s name. Garcia\u2019s record in 20 internationals is 12 wins, six draws and two defeats.<\/p>\n

Belgian federation officials will have to decide whether Garcia is the right man to continue as they look to create a side \u2060to contend for the 2028 Euros. There have been many questions about his tactics, substitutions and \u200bmanagement style and the disappointment of the narrow \u200bloss to Spain did not help his cause. \u200b<\/p>\n

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Thibaut Courtois<\/a><\/p>\n

Belgium had an inconsistent World Cup, scrambling more than once to advance to the last eight, drawing \u200bwith Egypt and Iran before \u200cbeating New Zealand to top \u200btheir group. They pulled off \u200ba narrow escape against Senegal in the last 32 where Garcia had taken off his leading players with the team 2-0 down, but whether his substitutions, or Senegal\u2019s defensive error, contributed more to their comeback is debatable.<\/p>\n

He can also point to highlights, however, such as their 4-1 demolition of cohosts the USA and the introduction of players such as Nathan Ngoy and Nicolas Raskin who enjoyed impressive tournaments. Garcia\u2019s substitutes contributed nine goals at this summer\u2019s tournament \u2013 a record for any team at a men\u2019s finals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rudi Garcia came under a barrage of fire for replacing his injured first-choice goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, in Belgium\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,112],"class_list":["post-544954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}