Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, 32, is in the Belgium national team for the first time in 22 months. The Real Madrid player has not played for the national team since June 2023, when he clashed with then-coach Domenico Tedesco over the captaincy, but returned after Tedesco was sacked and Rudi Garcia was appointed in January this year.

His return to the national team divided the Belgian public. Koen Castells, who had been Belgium's first-choice goalkeeper for the past two years, left the national team in protest.

"This message is not so much directed at Thibaut, but mainly at the football association. This does not fit into the standards and values ​​​​that I have for what a team sport or a sports organization should be," Castells said.

Courtois addressed the media after returning to the national team:

– I understand Castells because he was number 1, it is not comfortable for him to give up that status. I have never had a problem with certain players or groups, the fact that I am here again shows that the problem was in one person. The federation wanted me to return from the beginning and now I have decided to respond to that. I do not know what Castells is talking about, if you want to say something, then you have to say everything – said Courtois.

A reminder that Belgium is one of Macedonia's opponents in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.