BELGIUM goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has revealed he switched OFF his TV as he did not want to watch France win the World Cup.
The Chelsea stopper, 26, eventually switched back on after his mates told him he had been named the best goalkeeper at the tournament.
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Courtois kept clean sheets against Panama and England in the group stage and again against England in the third-place play-off on Saturday.
But despite helping the Red Devils finish third in the tournament – the nation’s best ever finish – Courtois was clearly still bitter over his semi-final defeat to eventual winners France.
He revealed to Belgian newspaper RTBF: “I watched the final, but I turned off my TV in the 94th minute, I didn’t want to see France celebrating their win.
“But I didn’t miss the whole thing.”
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Courtois had been highly critical of Les Bleus’ style of play after the semi-final, describing them as playing “anti-football”.
But he said he eventually switched back on, but only after missing the moment it was announced he had won the Golden Glove award.
“My pals then told me that Luka Modric had just got the award for the best player at the finals, and said the announcement of the best goalkeeper was going to be made.
“When my mates said it was me I put the TV back on, and rewound the recording so I could watch it ‘live.’
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“It is an incredible honour, and I am happy I’ve been able to help Belgium by making a lot of saves.
“But it wasn’t the main priority. I wanted to go as far as possible in the finals.”
Courtois is only the second goalkeeper to win the award without winning the World Cup.
The other was Oliver Khan in 2002, who starred for Germany as they reached the final in Japan/South Korea.
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