The Belgian team created one of the most dramatic comebacks at the 2026 World Cup when they defeated Senegal 3-2 in extra time in the round of 32, despite being two goals down and facing the risk of being eliminated.
Youri Tielemans became the hero of the Belgian team with a successful penalty kick in the 120+5 minute, after VAR determined that Lamine Camara fouled a midfielder of Aston Villa in the penalty area. This is also the latest decisive goal in the history of World Cups.
The victory helped Belgium qualify for the round of 16, where they will face the winner in the match between the USA and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Previously, Senegal seemed to have secured a ticket to the next round when Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr successively scored, putting the African representative ahead 2-0 for most of the match.
However, the turning point came in the final minutes. Romelu Lukaku narrowed the score to 1-2 in the 86th minute, before Tielemans headed in to equalize just 3 minutes later, dragging the match into extra time in Senegal's collapse.
In the last seconds of extra time, Tielemans completed a double with a goal from the 11m spot, closing the emotional comeback of the team led by coach Rudi Garcia.
One of Garcia's most notable decisions was the withdrawal of Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku from the field right from the 56th minute when Belgium was 2 goals behind. Although both stars were dissatisfied, this adjustment completely changed the game.
We adjusted our play well from mid-first half. However, the whole team lost the ball too often and tried to make assists from too far away. We overcame that and everything got better, even though we still conceded the second goal" - Garcia shared.
The Belgian team played more energetically after personnel changes and continuously put pressure on Senegal's defense. Lukaku's goal rekindled hope, and Tielemans's goal in the 89th minute completely lost the African representative's game.
Despite causing much disappointment in the group stage, the comeback against Senegal could become a turning point to help Belgium regain confidence in their journey to conquer the 2026 World Cup.
However, Garcia's team still revealed many weaknesses, especially the signs of aging of many key players. If facing the USA or Bosnia & Herzegovina in the next round, Belgium will certainly have to improve a lot if they want to continue to go deep.
What is expected is whether the breathtaking victory over Senegal will become a boost for Belgium to revive at the right time, or just the last explosive moment of the golden generation before closing their journey at the 2026 World Cup.
We understand these teams well. They often lose tactical structure at the end of the match. When the score was 2-0, they did everything to protect the goal, and in my opinion that was a serious mistake.
Let me remind you that when you are leading 2-0, don't do that. Because when you concede a goal and the score becomes 2-1, the game situation will completely change" - Garcia added.
