Senne Lammens suffers on World Cup baptism of fire as Merino capitalises for Spain | OneFootball

It was a mistake by Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens on his World Cup debut to cost Belgium as Spain advanced to the semi-finals thanks to the inevitable Mikel Merino.

It’s hard not to feel for Lammens, whose failure to keep hold of a Pau Cubarsi shot from distance will be scrutinised heavily, when he had to come in from the cold against Spain.

It was La Liga’s best goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, tasked with keeping Spain out to start with, but his game cruelly ended via injury after 70 minutes.

And so in came Lammens for his tournament debut. He went untested for at least a quarter of an hour as Spain struggled to create genuine chances, but a breakthrough finally came when they capitalised on his error.

As Lammens spilled Cubarsi’s shot, Merino was the first to pounce, himself having just come on.

Enhancing his reputation as a scorer of important goals, Merino showed Spain what they had been missing before he came on.

Indeed, this was a harder game for Spain than they may have expected, especially after taking the lead inside the opening half an hour.

A one-two between Pedro Porro and Lamine Yamal on the right led to a pull back for Dani Olmo, who forced a save from Courtois.

However, even Courtois couldn’t keep hold of that effort, with Fabian Ruiz getting onto the rebound for a first-time finish.

Spain started to flick the ball around well between each other, with Yamal getting on the ball more, but their lead was short lived. Around 10 minutes later, Charles De Ketelaere headed in an equaliser. It was the first goal Spain had conceded so far at this World Cup.

Belgium had faint appeals for a penalty in the second half when the ball hit Rodri’s arm in the box, but it wasn’t awarded.

A turning point came when Courtois was forced off with an injury with 20 minutes left, having originally received treatment during the second half’s hydration break moments prior.

His place was a tough one to fill for Lammens, who was a bit of an unsung hero for his club last season after being an unassuming addition to their goalkeeping department.

But Lammens was unable to live up to the pressure at this stage and will be having nightmares about his error for Spain’s winner.

It should not be forgotten that Courtois spilled one for Spain’s other goal too. But Lammens’ was more of a mistake and will be the one drawing unwanted flashbacks.

Thus, he will take little solace in the fact that Courtois couldn’t keep hold of one as well. Lammens will become a representation of Belgium’s elimination as the last embers of their golden generation flicker out.

He must put it behind him. He cannot afford to let a promising debut Premier League season go to waste. Besides, at international level, this was surely Courtois’ last World Cup.

Lammens will be seen as his natural successor and has more time to prepare for that responsibility than he did when having to react as Courtois’ in-game replacement.

For now, he will have to deal with being the face of Belgium’s exit.

But it was not an unexpected exit. Spain were the favourites to win the tie and will be formidable opponents for the favourites to win the tournament, France.

When you have an asset like Merino up your sleeve, a player there for the big moments, it certainly helps.

At this level, the finest of mistakes are punished by players like that. And so this will be remembered as a game decided by two substitutes – one for the right and one for the wrong reasons.