Who is Senne Lammens, the Belgian Manchester United goalkeeper who made a costly mistake against Spain at the World Cup?

Senne Lammens found himself under intense scrutiny after Belgium’s elimination from the 2026 World Cup. It was a difficult night for both the Belgian goalkeeper and the rest of his team.

Mikel Merino’s winning goal came after a fumbled save by Lammens, sending the Red Devils out of the tournament. The goal gave Spain a 2-1 lead and, despite one final push from Rudi Garcia’s players, Belgium could not find a way back.

The Belgian goalkeeper had barely featured for his country before the World Cup. The game against Spain was only Lammens’ third senior international appearance and his first at the tournament. He had previously played in a friendly against the United States and a World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein.

As expected, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had started all six of Belgium’s previous matches at the tournament.

Lammens blamed for Belgium’s exit

With just over 20 minutes remaining, Courtois suffered an injury to his left leg. The 34-year-old received treatment and initially attempted to continue, but eventually had to be substituted.

Lammens came on in his place, having not played a single minute at the World Cup until that point.

After the game, criticism poured in, directed both at the Belgian team and at Lammens himself. The Manchester United goalkeeper became the main target after his mistake ultimately handed Spain a place in the semifinals.

“It makes me sick that we’re going home because of a goal like that,” Belgian analyst Philippe Albert said.

Speaking to Le Soir, he added: “Lammens simply couldn’t make that kind of mistake on the second goal. He should have held onto the ball. It was a huge error by the Manchester United goalkeeper, and it knocked us out of the competition.

“It really hurts to go home because of a goal like that. I would rather have lost 3-0. He ruined the game.”

How much did Manchester United pay for Lammens?

Most of Lammens’ short professional career has been spent in Belgium. At the age of 21, he left Club Brugge to join Antwerp, where he spent two years before attracting Manchester United’s attention.

United paid Antwerp around $24 million for the Belgian goalkeeper, considerably more than his estimated market value of approximately $10 million at the time.

Lammens arrived in Manchester in September 2025 and has since made 33 appearances. He began the season as a backup but quickly established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper. Even so, the pressure ultimately appeared to take its toll on the World Cup stage.

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