United’s breakout star suffers nightmarish moment in nation’s devastating loss at World Cup

Manchester United have had numerous players involved in World Cup action over the past month. Players involved Matheus Cunha, Amad and Lisandro Martinez all scored their first ever World Cup goals. Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford could both be in action for England tonight against Norway, and Lisandro Martinez will almost certainly start for Argentina against Switzerland. Senne Lammens debut Lammens had spent the entire tournament on the bench as the legendary Thibaut Courtois kept goal for the Belgian team. Unfortunately, during Belgium’s 1-2 defeat to Spain in the World Cup quarter-final, the Real Madrid keeper had to go off injured in the second half. Lammens came on to make his World Cup debut and just his third appearance for the Belgian team. He began his performance confidently enough, but disaster struck in the 88th minute with the scores tied at 1-1. A shot by Pau Cubarsi was spilt by Lammens, and he could not react quickly enough as Arsenal’s Mikel Merino was on hand to fire in the winner. He made a total of two saves, including a decent hold on a fierce Marc Cucurella shot, but unfortunately, he will only remember his error which led to the winning goal. His pass percentage was just 54% as he was asked to play the ball long at most opportunities so Belgium could escape the intense Spanish press. Reaction Commenting on Lammens’ error, the usual number one, Courtois, was full of support for his compatriot and teammate. He claimed, “I gave him a big hug. He’s a great goalkeeper. You only get stronger from this.” The club’s official X site also threw their backing behind their keeper and stated, “head up, Senne. We’re all with you.” Belgium’s #FIFAWorldCup run comes to an end in the quarter-finals 🇧🇪 Head up, Senne. We’re all with you 🙏 pic.twitter.com/aWR0tyHZay — Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 10, 2026 Senne Lammens stats vs Spain StatisticValue Expected assists (xA)0 Total saves2 Goals prevented0.11 Punches0 High claims0 Errors leading to goal1 Key passes0 Crosses (accurate)0 (0) Accurate passes7/13 (54%) Passes in opposition half (acc.)2/7 (29%) Passes in own half (acc.)5/6 (83%) Long balls (accurate)3/9 (33%) Touches15 Dribbles (successful)0 (0) Possession lost6 Total carrying distance26.3 m Carries4 Total progression-3 m Def. contributions0 Tackles (won)0 (0) Interceptions0 Clearances0 Blocked shots0 Recoveries2 Ground duels (won)0 (0) Dribbled past0 Total shots0 Shots on target0 Featured image by Michael Regan/Getty The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.