Rangers man suffers World Cup heartbreak as Scott McTominay teammate breaks silence on retirement rumours

Raskin, 25, earned his 19th cap for Belgium after being named in the Red Devils’ starting line-up for the second match in succession, but he was unable to prevent them going behind on the 30-minute mark, when Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Fabian Ruiz capitalised on a rebound to fire European Champions, Spain, into the lead at the SoFi Stadium.

Lamine Yamal twice went close to doubling Spain’s lead in the aftermath of the opener, only for Rudi Garcia’s side to level the scores shortly afterwards, with Kevin De Bruyne and Timothy Castagne combining to allow the former to cross delightfully for Charles De Ketelaere to nod home beyond Unai Simon. The header was the first goal Spain has conceded in six games at the tournament.

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With the scores still level going into the final throws of the game, Belgium were forced into substituting veteran Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois after he suffered a thigh injury, with the 34-year-old stopper leaving the field in tears to be replaced by Senne Lammens in the 70th minute.

Unfortunately for Lammens, it was not a World Cup debut to remember as he committed a costly error that gifted Spain their late match-winning goal in the 88th minute. Spilling a long-range effort from Pau Cubarsi, the Manchester United goalkeeper was powerless to stop Mikel Merino blasting home the rebound from close range, ending Belgium’s tournament in the process.

“We played very well against Spain but at this level, you simply cannot afford to make any mistakes,” admitted head coach Garcia. “We made two. [Youri] Tielemans picked up an injury before the match, and Courtois was injured during the match. Kevin de Bruyne was also unable to see out the game

Meanwhile, Scott McTominay’s Napoli teammate, De Bruyne, has refused to rule out the possibility of international retirement following his side’s exit from the tournament. One of the nation’s greatest footballers of all time, the 35-year-old has been capped 124 times by Belgium since making his debut for the national team in 2010, though many have claimed that the defeat to Spain may be his final appearance for his country.

“It's too early to answer this,” said De Bruyne. “Let me process this loss. It's been a very long season, I need to rest my body. I will make my decision after the summer. I am incredibly proud of this team. We gave Spain a really tough game today, and we left everything we had out on that pitch. It hurts to go out like this, but we can hold our heads high."

De Bruyne’s head coach Garcia shared his disappointment, with the clash expected to be the final World Cup game for many of Belgium’s ‘golden generation’. “I'm disappointed for those that maybe might not come back with the national team,” he said. “I took a team that I wanted to take as far as possible. My veteran players, who are maybe on their way out, that they could have one last hurrah. It is a shame because I think everyone deserves to go far in this World Cup”