Senne Lammens has been thrust into the role of Belgium No. 1 and the Man Utd goalkeeper is passing his audition in style at the moment.
The fear for Senne Lammens was that his third cap for his country would be the one that came to define him, at least in the short term.
Coming on for the injured Thibaut Courtois in Belgium’s World Cup quarter-final against Spain, Lammens dropped a Pau Cubarsi shot at the feet of Mikel Merino two minutes from the end and saw his country exit the tournament in agony.
Lammens looked distraught at his mistake in California. Courtois is a Belgian legend, and replacing him comes with its own pressure, never mind doing so in the heat of a World Cup knockout tie, with the scores level, when your only previous international experience is friendlies against Liechtenstein and the USA.
At that point, it didn’t look like Lammens would be ousting Real Madrid goalkeeper Courtois any time soon, despite an outstanding first season at Manchester United after an £18.2million move from Royal Antwerp.
But just over two months on from that World Cup howler, the picture is looking very different for Lammens now. Courtois’ decision to skip Nations League duty this year has opened the door and the 24-year-old is walking through it.
Lammens has started Belgium’s Nations League games against Italy and France and although it’s a record of one win and one defeat, he has saved 11 of the 12 shots he has faced in those games, preventing goals with an xG value of 1.32 across the 180 minutes.
The United stopper will add to his five caps when Belgium play Turkey on Friday night, then France next Monday. Then, in November, come games against Turkey and Italy, and the chance for Lammens to really make a claim to be Mark van Bommel’s first-choice goalkeeper.
Courtois told Belgian newspaper HLN earlier this month that Van Bommel had told him he wouldn’t be guaranteed a place in his starting line-up, and that the 34-year-old then decided to step away from the national team for the rest of this year.
“I have decided not to play the entire Nations League campaign with the Red Devils,” he said. “Unless the national team manager faces problems with injuries, in that case, I may be called up on an exceptional basis. That also means I won’t be playing in a potential [Nations League] Final Four.
“I’m making myself available again for the Euro qualifiers. If the goalkeeper playing in the Nations League performs well, Van Bommel might stick with him. However, I want to fight for my place. I want to prove that I’m the first-choice goalkeeper again.”
The Euro 2028 qualifiers begin in March and although Courtois has stated his intention to return, he knew skipping these six Nations League games was a risk, handing Lammens the opportunity to establish himself as the man in possession of the gloves and Van Bommel’s man for the future.
Lammens was particularly impressive in Belgium’s win in Italy and spoke after the game after the mistake he made against Spain.
“It was difficult to get over that,” he said. “It was a very emotional moment. I wanted to help my team and my country, but that didn’t really work out that day. It was unfortunate, but that is football. I tried to turn the page as quickly as possible.”
He also addressed Courtois’ absence and, as you would expect from a young Belgian goalkeeper, was respectful of his place in the established order.
“Thibaut has proven a lot, he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world,” Lammens said. “There will always be a place for him. I’m not focused on whether he plays when he comes back. I will always do my best, whether I am in goal or not.”
A changing of the guard was inevitable at some point, however, and Lammens might be accelerating that process. A year ago, he settled quickly into life at Old Trafford, immediately establishing himself as the club’s No. 1 goalkeeper. It showed United were right to back his mentality as a key strength in what was a significant step up in class.
Now he might be taking the same opportunity with his country.
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