Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has admitted he does not want to go back to Chelsea having lost to England at the World Cup.

Belgium and England have both secured qualification for the next round of the World Cup, and have a game in hand with each other, meaning that the outcome of Thursday’s match between the two in Kaliningrad will determine who finishes as group winners.

The two sides sit top of the group on six points, both scoring 8 goals and conceding 2. It is one of the most highly anticipated games of the World Cup so far, and despite the reward for finishing second in terms of fixtures leading to the final may be greater, Courtois insists that he does not want to return to England having lost to them.

“If you want to have that winning feeling, it’s best to keep on winning,” he said. “I don’t want to go back to England in July with a losing feeling. I want to win. I think everyone feels that way.”

“We haven’t become favourites for the World Cup.

“Other teams are bigger than us. We’re going to continue taking it match by match and take advantage of the game against England to prepare for the knockout stages where things can happen very quickly.

“Tunisia wanted to play football, and we know we’re stronger in open games. If we play against defensive teams, we have more trouble and people immediately think our play is slower. Tunisia are a good side with technical quality, the desire to press high up the pitch and to play football. I have a lot of respect for that.”

As things stand, it could be better for England or Belgium to finish second in Group G, thanks to both Germany and Brazil struggling in their groups. This would mean an ‘easier’ route to the final, but Eden Hazard has insisted that maintaining momentum and confidence must be the priority.

“It’s important to finish top of the group, because — psychologically — it could have an influence on our opponent who says to themselves they’re going to play against a team that was the best in its group,” he said. “Up front, we’re strong, so we should show that to create a little more doubt in our rivals.”
[Quotes via ESPN]