Thibaut Courtois withdraws from Belgium squad to face Estonia after being 'offended' over captaincy snub

Thibaut Courtois has not travelled with Belgium to Estonia for their Euro 2024 qualifier against Estonia after being “offended” at being overlooked for the captaincy. The Real Madrid goalkeeper played in the 1-1 home draw with Austria on Saturday. Ad Romelu Lukaku was captain for the match in the absence of injured regular captain Kevin De Bruyne.

Euro QualifyingLukaku stunner rescues Belgium draw against unbeaten Austria in Euro 2024 qualifiers17/06/2023 AT 18:05 Courtois was due to take over as captain for the game against Estonia, but left the squad following the draw with Austria. “Together we decided that Romelu would be captain against Austria and Thibaut tomorrow against Estonia,” said Belgium head coach Domenico Tedesco. “That was OK for everyone but after the match he [Courtois] suddenly wanted to talk to me and said he was going home because he was disappointed and felt offended.

«And of course, I tried several times to speak to him: ‘Don’t do that, to me, don’t do that to the staff, don’t do that to the team.’ Because it’s a tough one, it’s a hard decision that he took. “From the beginning I tried to show him the appreciation he deserves. In my eyes he is the best goalkeeper in the world.

I love him as a goalkeeper but also as a human being. I am shocked.” Courtois’ father Thierry had told media in Belgium that his son had pulled out of the squad due to injury. However, Tedesco has dismissed those claims.

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