Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is considering taking a break from international football and possibly skipping the upcoming UEFA Nations League tournament.
Courtois's comments come in the aftermath of Belgium's exit from FIFA World Cup 2026 following their 2-1 loss to Spain in the quarter-finals on Friday.
The defeat meant that the hopes of winning a FIFA World Cup for the last remaining members of the Golden Generation, that includes Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, are now over.
During the match against Spain, the Real Madrid goalkeeper suffered an injury and had to be substituted off in the 71st minute, with Manchester United's Senne Lammens replacing him.
Thibaut Courtois on his Belgium future
"Regarding my future with the national team, we'll see. I'd like to perhaps take a break from the Nations League, which isn't that important, and maybe return for the Euro qualifying campaign," Courtois said after the match against Spain.
He said that it is important to decide his international future with the federation. "It's a decision that has to be made together with the federation. If they agree with that plan. Otherwise, today would have been my last match," he added.
After the match, the 34-year-old took to Instagram to thank all his fans for supporting him and his team.
"Saddened by the elimination, and especially by not being able to help the team at the end. Injuries are unfortunate, but the elimination hurts me much more. Even so, I am proud of the team and the World Cup campaign we’ve had. Thank you all for your support over these past few weeks," he wrote.
Belgium began their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign with a 1-1 draw against Egypt, and followed it up with a 0-0 draw against Iran.
The Red Devils then thumped New Zealand 5-1 in their final group stage match, before beating Senegal 3-2 and USA 4-1 in the round of 32 and round of 16 respectively.
In the quarter-final against Spain on Friday, Charles De Ketelaere equalised for Belgium in the 41st minute, 11 minutes after Fabian Ruiz had given Spain a 1-0 lead.
However, Belgium's dreams of advancing further were dashed after Mikel Merina scored from close range in the 88th minute to give Spain a 2-1 lead and eventually win the match.
For the UEFA Nations League, Belgium are in Group 1 in the top most division of the tournament, along with France, Italy and Turkiye. Belgium will begin their UEFA Nations League campaign with a game against Italy in Rome on 26 September.
