Belgium new manager opens the doors for Thibaut Courtous’ return | OneFootball

Thibaut Courtois’ absence from the Belgium national team fold has been a subjet of much discussion over the past half an year or so.

In the summer of 2024, Courtois announced that he won’t be playing for the Belgian national team anymore until Domenico Tedesco steps down from his role as head coach.

Courtois cited personal conflict with the former Schalke manager as the main reason behind his decision to distance himself from the national team.

However, not until a week back, Tedesco has finally left Belgium, who have hired Rudi Garcia as the new manager. This move has sparked hopes of Courtois’ potential return to the Belgium fold.

Rudi Garcia on Courtois’ return

In a recent interview, Garcia has openly advocated for the return of Courtois, revealing discussed he had with the national’s team sporting director, Vincent Manaert.

“We discussed the Courtois issue with Vincent Manaert and even if we have quality goalkeepers, we would like the best goalkeeper in the world to return to the squad,” Garcia said (h/t Reuters).

Rudi Garcia is the new Belgium coach (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Aged 32, Courtois has featured in a total of 102 international matches for Belgium throughout his distinguished career.

However, the Real Madrid superstar has not featured for the national team since 2023, notably missing the Euro 2024. His last game was against Austria back in June 2023.

Courtois’ personal conflict with Tedesco came on the back of the goalkeeper’s snub from the captaincy role. Many other issues followed suit, prompting the goalkeeper to distance himself from the national team.

However, things could change under Rudi Garcia, who is advertised as more of a man-manager rather than being a tactical wizard.

For the time being, Courtois is focused on his current assignment at Real Madrid. After a topsy-turvy first half of the campaign, the Belgian’s presence in between the sticks could be critical for Real Madrid as they look to reach their objectives come May.