June 19, (THEWILL) – Belgium’s goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, will be absent from the team’s Euro-2024 qualifier in Estonia on Tuesday.
Reports from local Belgian media monitored by THEWILL suggest that Courtois is unhappy after being overlooked for the captaincy in their recent 1-1 home draw against Austria. Team officials confirmed Courtois’ absence from the travelling squad but did not provide any specific reason for his exclusion.
Following Eden Hazard’s retirement from international football after the disappointing World Cup campaign in Qatar, the captain’s armband was passed on to Kevin De Bruyne. However, De Bruyne was unable to play in the Austria match due to injury, leading coach Domenico Tedesco to assign the captaincy to Romelu Lukaku. It was initially planned for Courtois to be the skipper for the Estonia game.
According to local sources, Courtois expressed his discontent with the decision in the dressing room following the draw against Austria and also criticised several of his teammates. As a result, he opted not to travel for the upcoming match.
Despite Courtois’ absence, Belgium currently holds four points from their first two qualifiers in Group F, including a 3-0 victory against Sweden. They are in second place in the group, three points below Austria, who lead the group but have played one game more than Belgium.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
