June 22nd 2024.
Unfortunately, the familiar face of Thibaut Courtois will not be seen between the sticks for Belgium in their second Euro 2024 group game against Romania. Like the rest of us, Courtois will be watching the game from home as he was not named in Belgium's squad for the tournament.
Despite being fit to play, Courtois was not selected for the squad, even though he recently started in goal for Real Madrid's Champions League final win over Borussia Dortmund. It has been a frustrating year for Courtois, as he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee right before the season began. Upon his return to training in March, he then tore the meniscus in his other knee, limiting his appearances for the rest of the season.
Courtois has been a key player for Belgium over the past decade as part of the so-called Golden Generation of Belgian players. However, at 32 years old, he will have to wait a couple more years for another opportunity to help his team win their first international trophy, especially after losing their first Euro 2024 game against Slovakia.
But why isn't Thibaut Courtois playing for Belgium at Euro 2024? It turns out that there has been a falling out between Courtois and head coach Domenico Tedesco since last June. It all started when Tedesco claimed that Courtois had refused to travel with the squad for a Euro 2024 qualifier against Estonia. The coach stated that Courtois was offended at not being given the captaincy in a previous game against Austria.
Courtois has denied Tedesco's version of events, stating that they had agreed to have Romelu Lukaku as the captain for the game against Austria and himself as the captain for the game against Estonia. However, after the match against Austria, Courtois claims that Tedesco wanted to speak with him and accused him of going home because he was disappointed and offended. The 32-year-old goalkeeper believes that Tedesco is trying to launch an attack on him, which has caused tension between them.
Tedesco's attempts to patch things up with Courtois have been unsuccessful, with the goalkeeper even publicly calling him a liar on Instagram. This has led to many calling for Courtois' return to the team, especially after his impressive performance in the Champions League final. However, he has remained firm in his stance and will not be joining the squad for Euro 2024.
In Courtois' absence, Belgium's goalkeeping duties will fall to Koen Casteels, Thomas Kaminski, and Matz Sels. Since his debut in 2011, Courtois has earned 102 caps for Belgium and has been a part of all five major tournaments since the 2014 World Cup. In the 2018 World Cup, he made 27 saves, the most of any goalkeeper, and was awarded the Golden Glove. It's a shame that he will not be able to add to his impressive record at Euro 2024, but hopefully, he will have another chance in the future.
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