Lammens' error spells end for Belgium's golden generation

Lammens' error spells end for Belgium's golden generationTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedFigure caption, Merino pounces on Lammens' mistake to score late winner for SpainByAlex BrothertonBBC Sport journalistPublished2 minutes agoCommentsFairytale goodbyes are a rarity in football.Belgium's 2-1 defeat by Spain in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup likely marked the final bow of the four remaining members of the Red Devils' golden generation.Thibaut Courtois, Romelu Lukaku, Kevin de Bruyne and Axel Witsel have been mainstays of the national team since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but their final chance of winning football's biggest prize ended with a mistake from one of their successors.The injured Courtois, replaced midway through the second half, could only watch as 24-year-old Senne Lammens spilled an 88th-minute shot and Mikel Merino tucked home the rebound."Lammens doesn't cover himself in any glory. He didn't make a mistake for Man United last year but this is another pressure," said Stephen Warnock on BBC Radio 5 Live.The next generation's time will come, but it felt a sad way for the old guard to depart.'They could have had one last hurrah - everyone deserves to go far'Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Kevin de Bruyne has made 124 appearances for BelgiumThe Belgian side that beat Algeria 2-1 in their opening group stage game of the 2014 World Cup read like an all-star fantasy team of players in their prime.Courtois, De Bruyne, Witsel and Lukaku all started, as did Eden Hazard, Mousa Dembele and Vincent Kompany, with Dries Mertens and Marouane Fellaini coming off the bench.Belgium topped their group in their first World Cup since 2002 and reached the quarter-finals, before going one better and reaching the final four in 2018 and winning the third-place play-off.The same group of players reached the quarter-finals of both Eu...