Fifa World Cup: Belgium’s reason to believe against Spain in Los Angeles blockbuster
After thumping USA victory ignited campaign, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois confident team can create ‘huge upset’ against European champions
Thibaut Courtois has told Belgium to summon the spirit of 2018 and create a “huge upset” when they clash with Spain in a blockbuster World Cup quarter-final on Saturday.
Staid and scruffy for large parts of their group fixtures, and incredibly fortunate to survive a round-of-32 fright against Senegal, a Belgium team fuelled by a sense of indignation ignited their tournament with a destructive 4-1 victory over the United States in the round of 16.
The owner of 114 international caps, goalkeeper Courtois acknowledged that Spain would start the Los Angeles encounter as favourites, but he recalled how Belgium ignored their underdogs tag to beat heavily fancied Brazil at the same stage eight years ago.
Ready for his 21st World Cup finals appearance, Courtois said: “Brazil were favoured against us, and, maybe, they had more individual quality in the team.
“I feel we are a great team, all together now, and we are fighting. [The match] against Senegal showed our ability to keep believing until the end, and that’s also a strength at the World Cup.
“It’s a nice thing to also play well, but the most important thing is to win and to compete.”