The Belgium goalkeeper is not present at the Euro and the reason is quite surprising
He is considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world and one thing is for sure, not having Thibaut Courtois in your team is a big miss. However, Belgium has decided to do without the Real Madrid goalkeeper. The reason? A conflict with his coach of the Belgian national team.
However, “officially”, Thibaut Courtois believes that he is not at 100% after having been absent for many months (since last August) following two knee injuries, and preferred to prepare as best as possible for next season by skipping , therefore, on Euro 2024.
The real reason is very different and comes from “armband-gate”. In June 2023, Courtois had a hard time not being named captain, in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, during a match against Austria, the 100th in selection for the Flemish goalkeeper. Romelu Lukaku was preferred, Courtois then deciding to slam the door on the selection a few days later, before a match against Estonia. “A tribute was planned for my hundredth selection. This is the moment when, as a federation and a coach, you can make a nice gesture to a goalkeeper who has done a lot for your country (…) When he said that Romelu was captain against Austria and that I was captain against Estonia, something broke inside me“, launched the goalkeeper at the time.
Whatever happens, his absence makes the Blues happy. eJI’m glad they had a fight with the coach. Well, I don’t know (laughs). What happened? You can explain it to me later (to a Belgian journalist). I’m glad he’s not here, he’s a great goalkeeper, he stops everything.” notably launched Eduardo Camavinga.