After Spain knocked Belgium out of the World Cup with a 2-1 quarter-final victory in Los Angeles last Friday, Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimović, now working as a television pundit, strongly criticized Belgium's goalkeeping selection.
Speaking during a television broadcast, Zlatan faulted Belgium's decision to bring on second-choice goalkeeper Senne Lammens after first-choice keeper Thibaut Courtois was forced off injured.
Lammens failed to deal with a long-range 30-metre effort from Pau Cubarsí, fumbling the ball and allowing Mikel Merino to score the winning rebound in the 88th minute.
"I place the blame for this defeat squarely on the coach. It was a decision that cost Belgium the match," Zlatan said.
"How do you take Courtois off and bring on Lammens when you have Penders sitting right there on the bench? Is it just because Lammens plays for Manchester United and Penders was at Strasbourg? That can't be how you pick a goalkeeper for your national team," he continued.
"Look at what happened right after. That mistake from Lammens is what allowed Merino to score the winner for Spain. One wrong call in goal, and the whole match flipped."
"Lammens is not a good enough goalkeeper at this level. He's overrated. Penders is the better keeper, and everyone could see it. It's embarrassing. Shame on the coach, and shame on the Belgian goalkeeping coach for getting that so wrong," Zlatan added.
Lammens' costly error ended Belgium's World Cup campaign and may have marked the final tournament for the country's remaining "golden generation." All-time leading scorer Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, and Thibaut Courtois could announce their retirements from international football in the near future.