Another Real Madrid legend has fallen at the 2026 World Cup, as Thibaut Courtois was forced off the match in the quarterfinals between Belgium and Spain in tears after suffering a thigh injury. Not long after he came out with the game tied at 1-1 following some more big saves, Senne Lammens spilled the ball and gifted Arsenal star Mikel Merino (of Real Sociedad fame, a familiar name to Madridisas) a goal and the 2-1 win for Spain.
After the game, Courtois gave credit to his opponents and their own upcoming opposition in the semifinals, France, who boast his Real Madrid teammates Kylian Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni, by stating that the winner of that game will be the winner of this year's World Cup Final.
Thibaut Courtois said to reporters, via Fabrizio Romano, “Who gets the win in Spain-France, gets the World Cup”.
Courtois gave Jude even more motivation
There is another Real Madrid superstar who will take umbrage with that statement, even as his teammates Tchouameni, Mbappe, and Marc Cucurella of Spain will love it. Because Jude Bellingham and the England national team are on the other side of the bracket, and they are facing underdogs Norway before their semifinal battle against the winner of Argentina and Switzerland, with Argentina obviously being heavy favorites.
Real Madrid fans have an affinity for Haaland, would love to see someone stop Lionel Messi and his team from holding the trophy in back to back tournaments, and probably have more reasons to root for Spain or France than for England.
But it feels harsh for Courtois to already give the World Cup to either France or Spain, because England have shown it is not easy to write them off. They have two of the biggest game changers in world football in Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, with the latter, once again, carrying England past tough matches like he did at the 2024 European Championshpis. His brace against Mexico at the Azteca will live in the history of football alongside Diego Armando Maradona's in 1986.
Bellingham can do it all in the middle of the park for England, just as he did in 2023/24 back when Real Madrid were actually smart enough to build things around him. He scores, assists, defends, breaks the lines, dominates the game, and picks out the right moments with his high football IQ.
For the first time really ever, England look like an actual team and not just a collection of individual egos. Bellingham will be itching to prove Courtois' prediction wrong.
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