* The Lions of Teranga looked on course for a famous round-of-32 victory after goals from Habib Diarra and Ismaïla Sarr gave them a 2-0 lead with only five minutes of normal time remaining
* But Belgium found a way back through Romelu Lukaku in the 86th minute before Youri Tielemans equalised three minutes later
* The match then went into extra time, where Senegal came desperately close to forcing penalties
Maravi Express
Senegal’s FIFA World Cup™ 2026 journey ended in painful fashion after Belgium produced a remarkable late comeback to beat the Lions of Teranga 3-2 after extra time in Seattle on Wednesday night.
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Coach Pape Thiaw’s side looked on course for a famous round-of-32 victory after goals from Habib Diarra and Ismaïla Sarr gave them a 2-0 lead with only five minutes of normal time remaining.
But Belgium, who appeared to be heading out of the tournament, found a way back through Romelu Lukaku in the 86th minute before Youri Tielemans equalised three minutes later.
The match then went into extra time, where Senegal came desperately close to forcing penalties.
Instead, Tielemans scored from the spot deep into stoppage time after a VAR review to complete a dramatic Belgian comeback and send Senegal out of the FIFA World Cup™2026.
For African audiences, it was one of the most painful exits of the tournament, with Senegal so close to adding another major knockout victory to the continent’s campaign.
Senegal follow three other African nations to narrowly exit at the Round of 32 — South Africa first, who were beaten 1-0 by Canada; Côte d’Ivoire 1-2 to Norway and DR Congo 1-2 to England.
Morocco, however — who made history by being the first African nation to reach the semifinals at the Qatar 2022 edition, held The Netherlands to 1-1 draw all the way through extra-time before winning 3-2 in post match penalties.
The Atlas Lions will meet Canada in the Round of 16 on Saturday while the other four African representatives in the Round of 32 will play tomorrow — starting with Algeria against Switzerland (17h00); Egypt v Australia (20h00); Cape Verde v Argentina (00h00); and Ghana v Colombia (03h30).
Senegal started with confidence
In yesterday’s match in Seattle, Senegal began brightly and looked the more dangerous team in the opening stages as the Lions of Teranga found space down the flanks, with Sadio Mane and Iliman Ndiaye helping to stretch Belgium and create early pressure.
Their first major opening came when Thibaut Courtois pushed a deflected cross from Ismail Jakobs into the path of Sarr. The forward, falling as he tried to finish, pushed the ball against the post before sending the rebound wide.
It was a warning Belgium did not properly heed as moments later, Senegal’s pressure was rewarded when Mane delivered a fine inswinging cross and Sarr rose above the Belgian centre-backs to direct his effort against the woodwork, but Diarra reacted quickest to turn in the rebound.
The goal gave Senegal a deserved lead and lifted belief among the Lions of Teranga and though Belgium tried to respond, Senegal remained organised and dangerous.
Thiaw’s side defended with discipline and looked ready to punish spaces whenever they appeared and early in the second half, Senegal struck again.
Moussa Niakhaté sent a precise long pass forward, and Sarr controlled brilliantly with his chest as he moved beyond the Belgian defence. This time, after earlier frustration, he made no mistake, firing past Courtois to make it 2-0 in the 51st minute.
At that point, Senegal were in full control of the tie. They had been sharper, quicker and more purposeful than Belgium, and their two-goal advantage looked strong enough to carry them into the last 16.
But knockout football can change quickly, and Senegal were punished for failing to close the match out when Belgium made changes and began to throw more bodies forward as time ran out.
In the 86th minute, substitutes Thomas Meunier and Lukaku combined to give the Red Devils hope, with Lukaku reducing the deficit.
Three minutes later, Belgium were level when Leandro Trossard sent in a dangerous cross, and Tielemans headed home to make it 2-2, sparking wild Belgian celebrations and leaving Senegal stunned.
The Lions of Teranga had been minutes away from victory, but their advantage disappeared in a chaotic spell that changed the entire match.
Extra-time agony for Lions
Senegal tried to recover during extra time, but the energy and rhythm they had shown earlier had begun to fade — with Belgium growing in confidence, although the match appeared to be heading for penalties as the final seconds approached.
Then came the decisive moment. Tielemans went down in the box, and after a VAR review, Belgium were awarded a penalty. The midfielder stepped forward and scored deep into added time of extra time to complete an extraordinary turnaround.
It was a cruel ending for Senegal, who had done so much right for most of the match and the exit will hurt because of how close they came.
They had recovered from a difficult group stage, beaten Iraq 5-0 to qualify as one of the best third-placed teams and then put themselves in a winning position against one of Europe’s most experienced sides.
But the Lions could not hold on when the match demanded calm in the closing minutes and after the game, Thiaw admitted the pain of the defeat but praised his players’ effort.
“We’re out – it hurts. We must congratulate the team, who gave it their all, but unfortunately we weren’t able to hold on to our two-goal lead. Congratulations to the Belgian team, who have gone through. We have to accept this – that’s football.”
Belgium’s comeback was the second time they had recovered from two goals down to win a World Cup knockout match, after their 3-2 victory over Japan in 2018.—Reporting by CAFonline; editing by Maravi Express
Knockout stages results
* South Africa 0-1 Canada
* Jordan 1-3 Argentina
* Brazil 2-1 Japan
* Germany 1(3)-Paraguay 1(4)
* Netherlands 1(2)-Morocco 1(3)
* Côte d’Ivoire 1-2 Norway
* France 3-0 Sweden
* Mexico 2-0 Ecuador
* England 1-2 DR Congo
* Belgium 3-2 Senegal
* USA 2-0 Bosnia & Herzegovina
Today
* Spain v Austria (21h00)
* Portugal v Croatia (01:00)
Friday
* Switzerland v Algeria (15h00)
* Australia v Egypt (20h00)
* Argentina v Cape Verde (00h00)
* Colombia v Ghana (03h30)
Saturday
* Canada v Morocco (19h00)
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