Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will face Spain for the first time in his international career on Friday, entering the World Cup quarterfinals as a self-proclaimed underdog capable of staging an upset.
The Real Madrid keeper, who has spent 11 years playing in Spain, trained with Belgium at the LA Galaxy's facilities on Wednesday. While the memory of his team's 4-1 thrashing of the United States in Seattle on Monday remains fresh, Courtois acknowledged that 'La Roja' will pose their toughest challenge of the tournament yet.
"Spain is a great team. I think they're one of the favorites to win it," Courtois said after the Red Devils' training session.
"So obviously we start as underdogs against them. But in football, everything is possible. I believe that we can win, with all respect. But obviously, they are the favorite."
Spain enters the quarterfinals in formidable form, having not conceded a single goal so far in the tournament. However, Courtois hopes his deep, firsthand knowledge of the Spanish squad will provide Belgium with a tactical edge.
"For me, it helps that I know them, most are from Spanish football, and some from the Champions League as well," Courtois added. "But at the end of the day, we are playing against Spain, not against Barça, City, or Arsenal. Everyone knows those players."
When asked about facing powerhouse Spain, Courtois' mind immediately went to Belgium's 2-1 victory over Brazil in the World Cup eight years ago in Russia. That upset sent the Red Devils to the semifinals for the first time in 32 years.
"They were favored against us, and maybe they were more individually with more quality in the team," Courtois said. "But I feel we are a great team all together now, and we are fighting."
That collective resilience has been on display throughout Belgium's knockout run. The Red Devils overcame a late 2-0 deficit to defeat Senegal 3-2 in normal time before securing their dominant victory over the United States, a match preceded by controversy when FIFA cleared American forward Folarin Balogun to play despite an automatic red-card suspension.
"Especially the match against Senegal showed our ability to keep believing until the end. The important thing is to win games. It's a nice thing to also play well, but the most important thing is to win and to compete, and that's what we did," Courtois added.
The winner of Friday's match will advance to the semifinals to face either France or Morocco.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.