THIBAUT COURTOIS was left red-faced when letting a backpass slip under his foot against Denmark.
In a battle for top spot of Nations League Group 1B, the Danes were given late hope by the Real Madrid goalkeeper’s late howler.
Nacer Chadli whipped the ball back to Courtois while under pressure inside his own half.
The shot-stopper had plenty of time to gauge the pass and no one within five yards of him when he completely failed to control it.
The ball grazed his studs and rolled agonisingly over the line.
Former Tottenham star Chadli, who now plies his trade at Istanbul Basaksehir, was even lumped with the own goal under his name.
Courtois, 28, is undoubtedly among the world’s best keepers but has had his fair share of howlers over the years.
In February, he bizarrely withdrew his hands when facing a shot against Levante, allowing the LaLiga side a 1-0 win over Madrid.
Thibaut Courtois set up to control a backpass from Nacer ChadliCredit: Sky Sports
But the goalkeeper let the ball slip under his footCredit: Sky Sports
And last night’s error was not the first time the ex-Chelsea man fluffed his lines in possession for Belgium, with a howler against Russia in Euro 2020 qualifying.
Fortunately for Courtois, on both occasions the Red Devils won regardless.
Following his long-range strike against England, Youri Tielemans bagged a fresh stunner from distance to open the scoring on Wednesday night.
Romelu Lukaku scored twice to put Belgium 3-1 up at the time of Chadli’s own goal.
With five minutes to go, Denmark needed two more goals to complete an unlikely turnaround and win the group.
But Kevin De Bruyne popped up with a superb finish on 87 minutes to seal the 4-2 win.
Courtois was left ruing his error but Belgium quickly scored to seal the winCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Belgium boss Roberto Martinez gave his approval of the Nations League after his side qualified for the final-four.
He said: “It’s a tournament with quality of opponents that you want to be facing, with a semi-final and final against these sort of teams.
“For us, these are games that we need. You only get these kind of knockout games in big tournaments, so I’m a big fan of this competition.”
Real Madrid star Thibaut Courtois mocked as he ‘makes only save all year’ while helping NBA star
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
