Courtois Belgium comeback ends in Ukraine loss

Thibaut Courtois reacts after Ukraine's third goal in Murcia (JOSE JORDAN)

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois tasted defeat on his Belgium return on Thursday as the Red Devils lost 3-1 to Ukraine in the first leg of the Nations League play-off.

Real Madrid's Courtois last played for his country in 2023 before a public falling out with then coach Domenico Tedesco and looked set to finish on 102 caps.

Courtois, 32, has come back into the fold under new boss in Frenchman Rudi Garcia, but was unable to stop Ukraine claiming the upper hand before next Sunday's second leg in Genk.

Romelu Lukaku scored for Belgium before efforts from Oleksiy Gutsulyak, Vladyslav Vanat and Ilya Zabarnyi in a 12-minute spell after the break secured the win for Sergiy Rebrov's side.

"The second half they took control," Lukaku told Belgian broadcaster RTBF.

"We had more desire but we were too wasteful for the third goal, our confidence dropped.

He added: "We can change the situation next week. I think you can see the team hasn't recovered (from Tedesco’s tenure). The team have to be tough mentally."

The opening game of the tie was played in the Spanish city of Murcia, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Many of the Belgium side which topped the world rankings from 2018 until 2021 have retired, including former skipper Eden Hazard.

Another member of that golden generation in striker Lukaku opened the scoring in south-eastern Spain after 40 minutes.

Courtois then conceded three goals by the 78th-minute leaving Belgium on the edge of relegation to the second-tier League B of the Nations League.

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