Courtois beaten... by a rat

Last night’s international between Belgium and Wales (4-2) featured one of the strangest moments in recent European football history — and Thibaut Courtois was right at the centre of it.

Early in the second half at the Cardiff City Stadium, a rat suddenly darted onto the pitch, apparently startled from underneath the stands. To the crowd’s astonishment, it made a direct run toward Courtois’s goal. The Belgian keeper tried to intercept the intruder, but the nimble rodent slipped past him and crossed the line — quite literally.

Of course, no goal was given, and the game resumed with laughter and disbelief in the stands. Later, however, Wales did find the net for real, briefly cutting the deficit before Belgium quickly restored their two-goal cushion — and that was that.

The incident instantly went viral, with fans joking that it was “the only one to score past Courtois this year.”

A rat ran on the pitch during Wales vs. Belgium 🐀😅 pic.twitter.com/zgRNDdWPm2

— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 13, 2025