Los Angeles, July 11 (IANS) Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia rued his side’s misfortune after their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign ended with a heartbreaking 1-2 quarterfinal defeat to Spain, saying ‘the stars weren’t aligned’ for them on a night when they lost their goalkeeper and captain in the middle of the match due to injuries.

Belgium were closing in on extra time before substitute Mikel Merino struck in the 88th minute to send Spain into their first World Cup semifinal since 2010.

“Unfortunately, the stars weren’t aligned for us this evening. We lost our goalkeeper. We lost our captain. We had to change a sub out given to De Bruyne, and that wasn’t part of the game plan at the end of the game,” Garcia said after the defeat as quoted by ESPN.

Spain opened the scoring in the 30th minute through Fabian Ruiz before Charles De Ketelaere headed Belgium level in the 41st minute, ending La Roja’s run of six consecutive clean sheets at the tournament.

Belgium suffered a major setback in the 71st minute when goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was forced off injured. Substitute goalkeeper Senne Lammens then failed to hold Pau Cubarsi’s long-range effort in the closing stages, allowing Merino to pounce on the rebound and score the winner.

Despite the defeat, Garcia praised his players for pushing Spain until the closing minutes and said Belgium had nothing to feel humiliated about.

“We could be proud of our World Cup stint, that we learn, we learn through defeat,” Garcia said. “I don’t think that we’ve got anything to feel humiliated about. I think that we were able to really give the Spanish squad a run for their money.”

Garcia also felt his players successfully executed the plan to press Spain and put pressure on their key players, but admitted fortune ultimately favoured La Roja.

“We went in to press them. We put pressure on the key players, and honestly, the players were up to scratch. They sang from the song sheet that I gave them. They did exactly what they needed to do, but once again, we need Lady Luck to be on our side, and unfortunately, she was smiling at Spain and not Belgium,” he said.

Asked about his future as Belgium manager, Garcia declined to discuss the subject and instead reflected on the disappointment of veteran players who may have played in their final World Cup.

“We’re not here to talk about the future. It’s not the right moment. We’re here to talk about the game, the game against Spain. And that’s the only thing that matters tonight,” he said.

“I’m disappointed for those who maybe won’t come back with the national team, those who were competing in the last global competition. I took a team that I wanted to take as far as possible, my veteran players that maybe are on their way out so that they could have one last hurrah.

“It’s a shame because I think that everyone deserved to go far in this World Cup, but what matters at the end of the day is we weren’t far from going into extra time,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, after the win, 2010 winners Spain will clash with two-time champions France in the semi-final.

–IANS

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