Why Real Madrid star Thibaut Courtois was not playing for Belgium vs Ukraine | Football

Thibaut Courtois was left out of Belgium’s squad for Sunday’s Nations League play-off second leg against Ukraine.

The Real Madrid goalkeeper made his eagerly anticipated international comeback earlier this week after a near two-year absence.

Courtois was expected to feature this evening but has been rested as a precaution and was replaced by Nottingham Forest’s Matz Sels.

Real are back in action against Leganes next weekend and have two more domestic fixtures before their Champions League quarter final first leg against Arsenal on April 8.

Courtois had not featured for his country since June 2023 when he walked out before a European Championship qualifier in Estonia following the breakdown of his relationship with then coach Domenico Tedesco.

Tedesco’s departure in January and the appointment of Rudi Garcia prompted Courtois, capped on 103 occasions, to effectively come out of international retirement.

‘I am who I am,’ said Courtois last week addressing his motivation for returning.

‘There were a lot of misunderstandings, half-truths, so I was able to explain what happened,” he said. “The teammates were able to ask their questions.

‘I’m relieved that we were able to talk everything out. Everything is clear and now we’re looking ahead. I know I made my mistakes. At that time, I wasn’t mentally 100% ready to play.

‘After a long season, you sometimes have impulsive reactions and that was not smart of me, that was not the best thing for the team and the supporters.

‘I still think the football association could have handled it better afterwards, but I also suffered a serious knee injury. I wasn’t ready to play at the European Championship anyway. And when a relationship with a coach breaks down it’s also difficult.

‘A lot had been written that I left because I didn’t get the captain’s armband, but that’s not true. That’s the biggest disinformation.

‘I understand it was hard for the fans at the time. I hope that they can accept me again. I understand it’s not easy, but I hope that they will support the team.’

Youri Tielemans, who also addressed the press conference, said it was good Courtois had explained matters. ‘

The most important thing is that he realises that some things went down badly with the group of players, but he said that he had not meant it that way,’ the midfielder said.

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