Some World Cup moments stay in your memory, years after the tournament has ended. Thibaut Courtois' save from Neymar, in the last minute of Belgium's epic 2018 quarterfinal with Brazil, was one of them.
The No. 10's curling shot was headed for the top corner to make it 2-2 and force extra time. Courtois, using all of his 6-foot-7 frame, tipped it over the bar. Brazil went home; Belgium finished third. It was the closest they've come to winning a World Cup.
Many of Belgium's famed golden generation have since said goodbye. Eden Hazard retired in 2023. Jan Vertonghen played his last international game in 2024. Vincent Kompany is already one of Europe's best coaches. But three key members of that much-vaunted side, once ranked FIFA's No. 1 in the world, will be back for the 2026 World Cup: Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, and Courtois.
The last steps of Courtois' international journey haven't been straightforward. A clash with then-coach Domenico Tedesco in 2023 -- sparked when Courtois was overlooked as captain, and reacted by walking out of the Belgium camp -- led to the keeper boycotting the national team. "My lack of confidence in [Tedesco] would not contribute to maintaining the necessary atmosphere of cordiality," Courtois, with understated disdain, posted on social media in August 2024.
But five months later, Tedesco was fired. Under his successor Rudi Garcia, Courtois is back where he belongs, between the posts for Belgium, and now heading into his fourth World Cup.
Brazil 2014: A quarterfinal exit
Courtois became Belgium's youngest goalkeeper when he made his international debut in November 2011, aged 19. In a sign of what was to come, his first game saw him keep a clean sheet. Three years later, by the 2014 World Cup, he was firmly established as Belgium's number one, playing all 10 of their qualifiers ahead of the tournament, and conceding just four goals along the way.
In Brazil, it was the same story. Belgium topped Group H with three wins out of three against Algeria, Russia and South Korea, their opponents managing to score just once. Next up, in the round of 16, it was an all-time classic, which United States fans will remember as a heartbreaking missed opportunity. Belgium beat the USMNT 2-1 after extra time, but the scoreline didn't tell the whole story. All three goals came after the 90 minutes were up. Courtois made four saves, including one heart-in-mouth, one-on-one, desperate block to deny Clint Dempsey late in extra time.
After that, Belgium's tournament concluded with considerably less drama. Their quarterfinal with Argentina in Brasilia wasn't exactly a thriller. Belgium's performance was tepid, and Argentina had just two shots on target. The first saw Courtois beaten, as Gonzalo Higuain converted eight minutes in. The keeper didn't even have time to dive as Higuain's smart shot, taken quickly on the bounce just outside the box, flew past him. Courtois' best moment came much later, in added time, with Lionel Messi through on goal until Courtois raced off his line, narrowed the angles, and pushed away the shot. A disappointing Belgium went home, as Argentina progressed to the semis.
Russia 2018: Third Place, Golden Glove
Courtois has called the 2018 World Cup "the highlight" of his international career. Across seven matches -- three group games and three in the knockout stage, plus a third-place playoff -- he made 27 saves, winning the tournament's Golden Glove.
Let's fast forward past the group stage, which included a Courtois clean sheet in a 1-0 win over England, and a dramatic 3-2 comeback against Japan in the last 16, and move onto a game Courtois has said "will remain in my memory forever" on July 6, 2018: that quarterfinal with Brazil.
"When you first start dreaming about being a professional goalie, you put a few items on your bucket list," Courtois wrote later on his personal website. "Facing Brazil, without a doubt, was at the top."
Courtois made nine saves in the game in Kazan. Belgium played with purpose and attacking intent, and as a result, their goalkeeper was often left exposed at the other end. Courtois rose to the challenge. Brazil had 26 shots, nine of them on target, creating a remarkable 4.10 xG (Expected Goals). But Courtois only let them score once, through Renato Augusto in the 76th minute, and by then, Brazil were already 2-0 down. Neymar's 94th-minute shot was their last.
"People often ask me if I'm most proud of my save against Neymar," Courtois wrote on his website. "But I don't believe it was the most difficult one of the match. I was already in the right position, could feel where the ball would land, and could catch it while it was still up in the air. To me, Douglas Costa's shots were the trickiest ones."
Either way, the end-product was arguably the best result in Belgian football history. In the semifinal with France, Courtois made another four saves -- sticking out a leg to deny Benjamin Pavard -- but couldn't stop the only goal of the game, as Samuel Umtiti's second-half header flashed past him at the near post. A win over England in the third-place playoff was no consolation.
Courtois had been the tournament's outstanding goalkeeper, in a high watermark for the golden generation.
Qatar 2022: Group stage disappointment
After 2018's historic highs, the 2022 World Cup was, perhaps inevitably, a letdown for Belgium. Their group stage elimination led to the resignation of coach Roberto Martínez after six years in the job. The golden generation was already fading; captain Hazard was 31, injury-hit and past his best.
Courtois played in all three Group F games, conceding twice in the result that hurt most: a 2-0 loss to Morocco in Doha on Nov. 27, 2022. Courtois was to blame for Morocco's opening goal, beaten at the near post by the faintest touch from Romain Saïss, from Abdelhamid Sabiri's free kick. "We knew that sometimes Courtois is overconfident at his near post," Morocco coach Walid Regragui said afterwards. "It turned out well for us."
The following game, a 0-0 draw with Croatia, was Courtois' 100th game for Belgium, but the team's premature exit meant he was in no mood to celebrate.
International absence, and return
After missing Euro 2024 thanks to his spat with Tedesco, Courtois is back at a major international tournament. And the environment is different: Belgium go into their Group G games in Seattle, Los Angeles and Vancouver without the same level of scrutiny and pressure that the team once faced. FIFA's rankings now place Belgium ninth in the pecking order, not first.
Teammate De Bruyne famously dismissed criticism of the underperforming golden generation as "stupid," arguing that the tag ignored other nations' contemporary strengths. "France, England, Spain and Germany don't have golden generations?" he snapped.
Belgium's collective talent no longer puts them among the tournament favourites. But in Courtois, they still have an epochal goalkeeper, and in knockout football -- as he's shown year-on-year in club football with Real Madrid -- his importance can't be overstated.
