Thibaut Courtois, the goalkeeper for Real Madrid and the Belgian national team, will not be participating in the Red Devils' Euro 2024 qualifier match against Estonia. The Belgian Football
Association (RBFA) confirmed that Courtois did not train with the squad on Monday and will not travel with the team to Estonia. No specific reason was provided for his absence.
As a result, Belgium will be without their first-choice goalkeeper when they face Estonia in Tallinn on Tuesday. Domenico Tedesco, the team's coach, will have to choose between Matz Sels, Thomas Kaminski, and Arnaud Bodart as potential replacements for Courtois.
Tedesco and Jan Vertonghen, the team captain, will hold a press conference in the Estonian capital, where they may shed light on Courtois' absence. Several media outlets have reported that the goalkeeper is dissatisfied with not being given the captain's armband.
During Belgium's previous Euro 2024 qualifier against Austria, Romelu Lukaku served as captain in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, who was injured. However, Tedesco announced that Courtois would wear the captain's armband for the match against Estonia.
In their last game, Belgium drew 1-1 against Austria in Brussels, marking Courtois' 100th international appearance. Currently, Belgium is in second place in Group F with 4 points, trailing behind Austria who have played one more game. Sweden (3 points), Estonia, and Azerbaijan (1 point each) follow closely. The top two teams in the group will qualify for Euro 2024. Photo by
ian Minkoff-London Pixels, Wikimedia commons.