Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has revisited Belgium's run to the World Cup semifinals last summer.

Courtois admits defeat to eventual winners France remains a frustration.

"If you're a winner, you cannot say that you do not have, even today, forgotten the match against France. The World Cup is only every four years. It's long. To arrive where we arrived is difficult. But the French were better than us, that's how it is," he said.

"That's not what I said right after the meeting? The thing is that the players and the fans misinterpreted this game. The French defended for the last 20 or 25 minutes. So, on the spot, leaving the field, we had that as an image. You have to put yourself in our shoes. You leave the field, and two minutes later, you have to do an interview. The last thing you remember is the last half hour. And the score.

"I said that the French had only defended because I had in mind images of Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann defending in their box. At that time, I forgot that they had opportunities, that I had to make stops, that Kylian Mbappé had been dangerous. Simply, they scored the first goal and then they defended. It was their right, we had done the same thing against Brazil."