Thibaut Courtois has kept Belgium in many a match throughout his national team career. But an injury substitution before a heartbreaking loss may have been the goalkeeper’s final World Cup moment.

Courtois said he would have been able to play through a leg injury, but he accepted being taken out for Senne Lammens in the 71st minute of Belgium’s quarterfinal showdown with Spain on Tuesday.

Lammens proceeded to let in Mikel Merino’s game-winning goal in the 88th minute, which enabled La Roja to advance 2-1.

“I felt a lot of pain in my quadriceps. But I had no problem with staying in goal though, only for long kicks,” Courtois told media after the match, per soccer reporter Fabrizio Romano.

“In the end the manager decided to take me off. This is no problem as the team goes above everything.”

The Real Madrid star let in Fabian Ruiz’s goal to open the scoring in the 30th minute, but Charles De Ketelaere equalized for Belgium before halftime.

Courtois was credited with four saves before his exit. He supported Lammens, 24, a Manchester United goalie who made two saves in his brief World Cup debut. Lammens dropped a soft shot by Pau Cubarsi and Merino smashed the rebound past him for the deciding goal.

“Senne Lammens is a fantastic goalkeeper with a bright future,” Courtois said. “This moment will make him stronger.”

It’s not known whether Courtois will make another World Cup appearance as he’ll be 38 when he is 38 during the 2030 tournament.

His goalkeeping spurred Belgium to a quarterfinal run in 2014 and a third-place finish in 2018, their best World Cup to date. Friday was Courtois’ 21st World Cup match; he’s had eight clean sheets, tied for third all-time behind Fabien Barthez and Peter Shilton, each with 10.

Per reports from his mixed zone interview, Courtois said he would like to take a year off from international competition — skipping the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League — and play for Belgium in qualifiers for the 2028 UEFA European Championship.

–Field Level Media

Vernon Adams Jr. will look to follow up his stellar seven-touchdown performance when he leads the Calgary Stampeders into Montreal on Saturday to face the Alouettes.

Adams threw for 405 yards and six touchdowns to go along with a rushing score as the Stampeders rolled to a 58-36 victory over the Toronto Argonauts on July 2. The six TD passes tied a franchise record, shared with Doug Flutie, Jeff Garcia, Peter Liske and Calgary’s current head coach/general manager Dave Dickenson.

“One of the better games I’ve probably ever seen,” Dickenson said of Adams.

“… Vernon made a lot of those plays on his own, and a couple of those passes were when he’s getting dragged down. And that (touchdown) run was excellent, too. So what he’s doing is playing winning football.”

Not surprisingly, Adams was recognized with the top spot on the CFL’s list of Week 5 Players of the Week. And he likely will need to light up the scoreboard once more against a Davis Alexander-led Alouettes team that is averaging 33.3 points per game — trailing only Calgary (41.0) and Toronto (37.5).

Jalen Philpot and Dejon Brissett each had two touchdown receptions last week for the Stampeders (2-2), who answered a pair of narrow losses with two consecutive victories.

Speaking of Philpot, his twin brother, Tyson, plays for the Alouettes (3-1) and leads the CFL in catches (36), receiving yards (587) and 30-yard catches (five) to go along with three touchdowns.

“He’s half man, half phenomenon,” fellow wide receiver Alex Hollins said of Tyson Philpot. “There is no track he can’t run. There is no ball he can’t catch. If you throw it at him, he’ll catch it. He is simply an elite player.”

Alexander isn’t too shabby in his own right. He hasn’t thrown an interception in his last 274 pass attempts, which represents the second-longest streak in league history (Darian Durant, 323).

The Alouettes, who are fresh off a bye last week, will travel to Calgary next week to complete a home-and-home series with the Stampeders.

–Field Level Media

Oakland Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz is out of the lineup Friday night due to a right thumb capsule strain.

According to MLB.com, Kurtz might need a stint on the 10-day injured list. That transaction would cause Kurtz to miss next Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia.

Kurtz is the American League starter at first base after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (back) of the Toronto Blue Jays pulled out of the affair.

Kurtz exited Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Tigers after 1 1/2 innings but the club said the departure was due to illness. However, he also appeared to hurt the hand while trying to field a throw in the bottom of the first.

Kurtz, 23, is batting .266 with 20 homers in 92 games. His 66 RBIs entering Friday were second-most in the AL.

The Athletics also placed infielder/outfielder Zack Gelof (knee) on the 10-day injured list and recalled first baseman/outfielder Joey Meneses from Triple-A Las Vegas.

Gelof, 26, was injured while playing left field and had to exit Thursday’s game. He made a sliding catch in foul territory after a long run and his knee was cut after banging into the metal railing in front of the stands.

Gelof had just returned from a right hand contusion on July 4. He is batting .273 with 11 homers and 29 RBIs in 67 games.

Meneses, 34, batted .143 (2-for-14) with two RBIs in seven games with the A’s earlier this season.

–Field Level Media