Belgium produced one of the most dramatic comebacks of the 2026 World Cup, scoring three unanswered goals to overturn a two-goal deficit and beat Senegal 3-2 after extra time to secure a place in the last 16.
Youri Tielemans was the hero, heading home a late equaliser before calmly converting a penalty in the final moments of extra time after a VAR review, completing an extraordinary turnaround that looked impossible with just five minutes remaining.
Belgium will now remain in Seattle to face either the United States or Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 16.
Senegal had looked in complete control for much of the contest after Habib Diarra opened the scoring in the 25th minute, finishing from close range after Ismaila Sarr struck the post. Sarr then doubled the advantage early in the second half, controlling a long pass from Moussa Niakhaté before finishing beyond Thibaut Courtois.
The Lions of Teranga could have gone ahead even earlier when Sarr hit the post before sending the rebound wide after Courtois had diverted a deflected cross into his path.
Belgium finally found a way back in the 86th minute when substitute Thomas Meunier picked out Romelu Lukaku, who reduced the deficit to spark hopes of an unlikely escape.
Three minutes later, Tielemans headed in Leandro Trossard’s cross to force extra time.
Just as the match appeared destined for penalties, Tielemans was fouled inside the box and stepped up to convert the resulting spot kick deep into stoppage time of extra time, sealing one of Belgium’s greatest World Cup comebacks.
The victory marked the second time Belgium have recovered from two goals down to win a World Cup knockout match, having also beaten Japan 3-2 from the same position in the 2018 round of 16.
Belgium manager Rudi Garcia praised his side’s resilience.
“In football, anything is always possible as long as you believe in it. The strength of this squad also lies in the players who come off the bench, because you can’t get results with just eleven players. We made the necessary adjustments from the second half of the first half onwards, we were playing key passes from too far out when there was no need to. We sorted that out and things improved, even though we conceded the second goal,” he said.
Senegal manager Pape Thiaw admitted the defeat was painful after his side surrendered a commanding lead.
“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,” he said.
Tielemans was named Player of the Match, while Lukaku credited the squad’s fighting spirit after helping inspire the comeback.
“I’ve had enough of these matches! It was intense, but we gave it our all. We were trailing, but we showed character. In matches like this, that’s what it takes. This Senegal side is one of the best teams in the tournament. Technically, physically and tactically, it was really tough. But when we stepped up the intensity of our pressing, when we were there for the second ball, our team spirit shone through and we won the match. It’s victories like this that we need to bring this squad even closer together,” he said.
