Belgium exit World Cup in quarter-finals after Lammens error, lose 2-1 to Spain

Merino pounces on Lammens' mistake to score late winner for Spain

By Alex Brotherton, BBC Sport journalist

Fairytale goodbyes are a rarity in football.

Belgium's 2-1 defeat by Spain in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup likely marked the final bow of the four remaining members of the Red Devils' golden generation.

Thibaut Courtois, Romelu Lukaku, Kevin de Bruyne and Axel Witsel have been mainstays of the national team since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but their final chance of winning football's biggest prize ended with a mistake from one of their successors.

The injured Courtois, replaced midway through the second half, could only watch as 24-year-old Senne Lammens spilled an 88th-minute shot and Mikel Merino tucked home the rebound.

"Lammens doesn't cover himself in any glory. He didn't make a mistake for Man United last year but this is another pressure," said Stephen Warnock on BBC Radio 5 Live.

The next generation's time will come, but it felt a sad way for the old guard to depart.

'They could have had one last hurrah – everyone deserves to go far'

Kevin de Bruyne has made 124 appearances for Belgium

The Belgian side that beat Algeria 2-1 in their opening group stage game of the 2014 World Cup read like an all-star fantasy team of players in their prime.

Courtois, De Bruyne, Witsel and Lukaku all started, as did Eden Hazard, Mousa Dembele and Vincent Kompany, with Dries Mertens and Marouane Fellaini coming off the bench.

Belgium topped their group in their first World Cup since 2002 and reached the quarter-finals, before going one better and reaching the final four in 2018 and winning the third-place play-off.

The same group of players reached the quarter-finals of both Euro 2016 and 2020, before crashing out of the group stages of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Critics say such a talented group should have achieved more, but for a nation of less than 12 million people, was international success ever a realistic aim?

"To be a golden generation you have to win some gold and then you can be called that," said Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague.

"It's put the expectations very high in Belgium and it's interesting that people look back at that group of players because with Lukaku, De Bruyne, Tielemans, Trossard they have actually had a good run.

"They were third in the 2018 World Cup and that seems to have been forgotten with Roberto Martinez as their manager. I'm not sure how much more you could ask for.

"In the context of other teams like an England side that had the golden age, with an Italy that have had such experience and managed to get a wonderful Euros, with Spain on the up as well, to demand Belgium to win is a maybe a little bit too much."

Along with those celebrated names, Leandro Trossard (31), Brandon Mechele (33), Timothy Castagne (33), Hans Vanaken (33), and Thomas Meunier (34) have likely played their last World Cup minutes.

"I'm disappointed for those that maybe might not come back with the national team," manager Rudi Garcia said after the match.

"I took a team that I wanted to take as far as possible. My veteran players, who are maybe on their way out, that they could have one last hurrah.

"It is a shame because I think everyone deserves to go far in this World Cup."

• Merino the unlikely hero again – as Spain wait for Lamine Yamal show

Spain into semi-finals at expense of Belgium after Merino's late winner

'Our young players will learn from this'

"I think this is a new era for us," said Courtois before Belgium thrashed tournament co-hosts USA 4-1 in the last 16.

"It is true that there are some players from the golden era, but the World Cup in Qatar for us was not that good.

"Now we have another generation with younger people, new people, willing to do great things and writing in the history pages for Belgium."

The members of that new generation – 13 squad members are aged 25 or below – have certainly given cause to be optimistic for the future.

Striker Charles de Ketelaere was not a prolific goal scorer in Serie A last season – he managed just three goals in 31 games – but he found the net on three occasions at the World Cup to finish the tournament as Belgium's joint-top scorer.

The 25-year-old also provided one assist and did well creating space for the wingers to cut into the penalty area.

Captain Youri Tielemans, 29, scored both the equaliser and winner in the remarkable comeback win.