Thibaut Courtois expressed pride in Belgium’s so-called “Golden Generation” following their exit from the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals at the hands of Spain. The 34-year-old Real Madrid goalkeeper watched from the bench as veteran teammates, including Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, saw their final World Cup campaigns come to a close at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Belgium’s core players—Courtois, De Bruyne (35), and Lukaku (33)—have been central figures in a talented era that saw the national team reach the top of FIFA’s world rankings multiple times over the past decade. Alongside stars like Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany, and Marouane Fellaini, this group was widely heralded as one of the most gifted Belgian contingents in history. Yet despite their high potential, major tournament success has eluded them, with the team’s best achievement being a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup.

Friday’s 2-1 defeat to Spain was marked by an unfortunate error from substitute goalkeeper Senne Lammens, who had replaced Courtois after an injury in the 71st minute. The loss continued a pattern of near misses, reinforcing the narrative that Belgium’s golden generation never captured a major international title.

Courtois, however, pushed back against such criticism in his post-match remarks. He highlighted that Belgium had consistently performed well on the biggest stages and often fell to teams that went on to win the tournament, including the 2018 World Cup and the 2021 European Championship.

“In the big tournaments, almost always we have done well,” Courtois said. “We’re very proud of everything we did till now. Obviously, we get a lot of criticism like ‘The golden generation never won anything,’ and so on. But we are Belgium. We’re not England. We’re not Spain. We’re not France. We are a small country of not even 12 million people that in big tournaments is showing amazing things.”

He emphasized the difficulty of winning major titles, noting that many prominent footballing nations and players have also failed to claim a significant trophy despite their talent and efforts. “It’s really easy to criticize and say, ‘Yeah, you didn’t win anything.’ But look at all big names in football. Not everyone has won a big tournament, and we always tried it. I think we can be proud.”

Looking forward, Courtois expressed optimism about Belgium’s future, citing the strength of the country’s youth development system. “We have great youth academies that are working well... there’s young talent coming up, and the guys that are younger now will get stronger the next years. And I’m hoping that for the Euros or the next World Cup, we’ll get stronger. I think we have the spirit.”

With several senior players now in their mid-30s, Belgium faces a transitional phase, but Courtois remains confident that the national team will continue to build on their recent achievements and maintain a competitive presence in future international competitions.