INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Belgium manager Rudy Garcia bemoaned the fact that lady luck wasn’t on his team’s side in the Red Devils’ 2-1 World Cup quarterfinal defeat to Spain.
The two teams traded first half goals at SoFi Stadium on Friday, with Fabián Ruiz netting for La Roja in the 30th minute, but Belgium striking back 11 minutes later through Charles De Ketelaere.
Spain, as is its habit, had a sizable possession edge, but couldn’t find a breakthrough until the 88th minute, when Pau Cubarsi’s shot was fumbled by substitute keeper Senne Lammens, allowing supersub Mikel Merino to fire home the game-winner.
Lammens was in the match after starting Belgium goalkeeper Thibault Courtois had to leave the game in the 71st minute with a muscle injury. Adding to Belgium’s difficulties was captain Youri Tielemans injuring his groin in the warmup. Kevin De Bruyne was also forced to leave the match in the 86th minute.
After the game, Garcia lauded his team’s play in the face of such adversity.
“It was really simple, that 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.
“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 also rued some key plays that went in Spain’s favor. In the 62nd minute, an apparent handball on Rodri in the Spain penalty area went uncalled by referee Michael Oliver, and VAR didn’t intervene. Then two minutes into stoppage time, substitute Alexis Saelemaekers evaded a challenge from Spain goalkeeper Unai Simón, only to watch his cross cleared by Aymeric Laporte right into the arms of Simon.
“We went in to press them. We put pressure on the key players,” said Garcia. “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.”
For Garcia, the uncalled handball grated as he saw his team’s run at the World Cup end at the quarterfinal hurdle.
“There were too many things. The ducks just weren’t in a row,” Garcia said. “They [handled the ball] in the box. Michael Oliver was one thing, but what is VAR for? I actually think that for handballs it’s going to be an eternal issue. The rules aren’t stricter. I’m not going to say anything more about this action, but I think it’s a situation that works against us for a quarterfinal.
“When you’re coming up against a team of this caliber, you need luck on your side as well, so you can’t be offering anything on a silver platter, and unfortunately, we did a couple of times.”
Garcia was asked about his future as Belgium manager, but declined to address the topic, thinking more about the veteran players such as De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, who have likely played in their last World Cup.
“We’re not here to talk about the future. It’s not the right moment,” Garcia said. “We’re here to talk about the game, the game against Spain. And that’s the only thing. That’s the only thing that matters tonight.
“I’m disappointed. 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 may be are on their way out so that they could have one last hurrah.
“It’s a shame. 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.”
Unfortunately for Belgium, they couldn’t come up with an equalizer. Garcia added: “My players believed in themselves right up until the end.”
