Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens made his World Cup debut for Belgium during their 2-1 quarter-final loss to Spain on Friday.
The Red Devils went into the game as underdogs, but they managed to stay in the contest until the closing stages before La Roja scored a late winner.
For the second straight match, Mikel Merino netted the decisive goal for Spain. He scored in the 88th minute after an untimely error from Lammens.
Lammens came on for his World Cup debut in the 71st minute after an injury to Thibaut Courtois.
The United star looked commanding with his distribution, but his poor handling of Pau Cubarsi’s long-range shot led to Merino’s 88th-minute goal.
It was an unfortunate moment for the 24-year-old. Belgian outlet Het Belang van Limburg handed him the lowest rating of 4/10 after the late defeat.
The reputed publication highlighted that Lammens played with confidence in goal until his mistake, which contributed to Belgium’s World Cup exit.
They wrote: “Played his first minutes of the tournament. Made a mistake on the goal that made it 2–1. Up until then, he had been playing with confidence in goal.”
Lammens signed for the Red Devils from Royal Antwerp last summer. He displaced Altay Bayindir to become an undisputed starter in the Premier League.
The Belgian hardly put a foot wrong during his debut season. He got his big opportunity with his country yesterday but had a moment to forget with his error.
Despite this, he has received immense support from Courtois, who described him as a ‘great goalkeeper‘ with a ‘strong personality’ after a wonderful 12 months.
Lammens has shown exceptional mental strength in his young career and should return to his best form when the new season starts with the Red Devils next month.