Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois on Monday revealed that he couldn’t see France lift the World Cup and hence turned his TV off during final.
Courtois who won the ‘Golden Glove’ for his terrific performance, helped Belgium finish third in the competition after defeating England 2-0 third-fourth place play-off.
He was also brilliant in the quarter-final against Brazil making some spectacular saves to carry his side into the semi-finals. The Chelsea custodian however couldn’t save his side from losing 0-1 to France, that knocked them out of the tournament.
Following the defeat, Courtois could not stand the sight of watching the ‘Les Blues’ lift the trophy and hence decided to switch off the TV.
“I watched the final, but I turned off my TV in the 94th minute, I didn’t want to see France celebrating their win,” the 26-year-old told RTBF, reported the Goal.
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France defeated Croatia 4-2 to win the World Cup, with Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe scoring for the 1998 champions, while Antoine Griezmann scored from the spot after controversial penalty.
Ivan Perisic levelled the scores in the first-half with a gorgeous strike, while Mario Mandzukic who had netted an own goal to give France rhe lead, later made most of a Hugo Lloris blunder.
It could however not prevent France from clinching the title and Courtois who had branded Didier Deschamps’ boys as an “anti-football team” was forced to switch off the TV.
“But I didn’t miss the whole thing,” he added.
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The Chelsea custodian was awarded the “Golden Glove,” given to the best goalkeeper of a World Cup tournament. And he admitted that it made him turn on TV again after full-time.
“When my mates told me, I turned on the TV again and went back to it live,” said Courtois. “It’s an incredible honour.
“I’m glad that I had a lot of moments that helped the team, but that was not the most important thing. I wanted to go as far as possible.”
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The 26-year-old became just the second “Golden Glove” winning goalkeeper after Oliver Khan in 2002 to not win the World Cup.
Khan’s Germany in 2002 lost 0-2 against five-time champions Brazil in the final of the global showpiece. The former Bayern Munich custodian also claimed the “Golden Ball” – awarded to the best player in the competition – that year.
Croatia captain Luka Modric won the prestigious award at the 2018 World Cup. While, Courtois’ club and country team-mate Eden Hazard won the silver ball.