"Ridiculous how overpowered he is" "2022 is his year" - Belgium superstar gets dubbed the 'brick wall' for his matchwinning display against Canada
Thibaut Courtois continued his remarkable year as he saved a penalty during Belgium's 1-0 win over Canada in the FIFA World Cup.
The 30-year-old won the Yashin award at the recent Ballon d'Or ceremony following an incredible season for Real Madrid.
Courtois put on a performance for the ages in June's Champions League final against Liverpool as Los Blancos claimed their 14th European crown.
Belgium were largely woeful in their opening clash in Qatar against a Canadian side who were playing in just their second FIFA World Cup.
The CONCACAF side's youth, pace, and athleticism were too much for the European giants to handle as they named an experienced side.
Canada dominating Belgium, robbed of 2 penalty kicks and a back pass which wasn't, now trail Belgium. Such is football, unlucky for the Canadians.
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies had the chance to give Canada the lead from the penalty spot early on, but Courtois made the save as Belgium clung on.
Roberto Martinez's side grabbed an incredibly undeserved goal on the stroke of halftime thanks to Michy Batshuayi, as Canada wasted several huge chances.
The Canadians had 22 shots in total, but just three were on target as the 2018 semi-finalists got their campaign off to a winning start.
But fans were once again impressed with Courtois, who put on an imposing display in goal to keep his opponents at bay.
While Twitter was largely unimpressed with Belgium, many took to the site to heap praise on the Real Madrid shot stopper, who is arguably the best goalkeeper in the world right now:
@brfootball last two years of courtois have been generational
Thibaut Courtois has saved 5 penalties in 2022:
• vs Valencia
• vs Athletic Club
• vs PSG
• vs Celtic
• vs Canada
Brick wall. 🧱🧤 @thibautcourtois https://t.co/ClvGX94pae
Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois emerging from the same academy at the same time is something else. KRC Genk have one of the more underappreciated youth systems in European football.
Courtois: 5 out 9 penalties saved in 2022 https://t.co/cNaV41cC1H
📸 - COURTOIS SAVES THE PENALTY FROM DAVIES!!!! https://t.co/MKyYJcoYwm
Ridiculous how overpowered Thibaut Courtois is. I’d even argue he deserved a top-3 Ballon d’Or place. Controversial? Maybe. 2022 is his year. Very few goalkeepers have had a better year/season. Highlighting him as the world’s best is just common sense at this point.
Roberto Martinez believes Belgium 'need to be realistic' at FIFA World Cup
After a largely dismal performance from the Devils, Martinez faced difficult questions from the media about his team's display.
The former Everton boss conceded that Canada deserved more from their opening FIFA World Cup fixture, as he told BBC Sport:
"Canada deserved to be better than us in the way they played. I think the result reflects the things that we had to do and the way we defended for each other and took our chance. It's a win and we need to play better and to grow. We've been here five days, we have to grow with these games. Many top teams are losing games."
He continued:
"This tournament is going to make you develop and grow as the tournament goes on. If you do that by winning games, it's an incredible advantage. Today we didn't win by our normal talent and quality on the ball, but you don't win in the World Cup if you don't do the other side of the game."
All over Belgium, missed one penalty, should have had another two given to them and somehow losing 1-0 at half time.
Canada hasn't been this screwed over since Survivor Series 1997. https://t.co/0N8FQj6iGF
He added:
"We need to be realistic, we need to play well but when a team can win without playing well, it's a lot to build on."