Overview
The Belgian team will face Senegal in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup with the goal of winning a ticket to the next round. However, the African representative is expected to create no small difficulties after their impressive breakthrough in the last group stage match.
Belgium entered the knockout round as the top of Group G, winning 5 points after 3 matches, scoring 6 goals and conceding only 2 goals. However, coach Rudi Garcia's team's journey was not really convincing. They were held to a 1-1 draw by Egypt in the opening match, before continuing to draw with Iran in a goalless draw.
It was not until the last match that Belgium regained their original image with a resounding 5-0 victory over New Zealand. This result not only helped them win the top spot in the group but also brought the necessary confidence before entering the knockout stage.
Ranked 9th in the FIFA rankings, Belgium is still highly rated thanks to the quality of the squad and experience playing in major tournaments. Their best achievement at the World Cup is third place in 2018, although the golden generation once disappointed when they were eliminated right from the group stage of the 2022 World Cup.
Garcia understands that his students' performance needs to be improved if they want to go deep as expected. A victory over Senegal will open up opportunities for Belgium to continue to nurture their ambition to compete for the championship.
On the opposite side, Senegal went through a volatile group stage. Two consecutive defeats against France and Norway put the African representative in a position to win in the final match to nurture hopes of going further.
Coach Pape Thiaw's team responded with an explosive performance when they crushed Iraq 5-0. This victory not only helped Senegal win a ticket to the knockout round as one of the third-placed teams with the best results, but they also became the first African team to score 5 goals in a match at the World Cup.
Senegal is aiming to surpass their best performance at the World Cup, after reaching the quarter-finals in 2002 but stopping in the round of 16 at the 2022 tournament.
After South Africa was eliminated, Senegal became a big hope for African football in the knockout round. However, their defense will face a big challenge against a Belgian team that possesses many creative midfielders and has the ability to create high breakthroughs when in good form.
Personnel situation
Belgium is likely to play with an almost strongest squad in the match against Senegal. Thibaut Courtois continues to be the number one choice in goal after 112 appearances for the national team.
Meanwhile, Senegal suffered a big loss in goal when goalkeeper Edouard Mendy suffered a knee injury in the match against Norway.
Expected lineup:
Belgium: Courtois, Castagne, Theate, Mechele, De Cuyper, Vanaken, Tielemans, Trossard, De Bruyne, Doku, De Ketelaere.
Senegal: Diaw, Jakobs, Seck, Niakhate, Diatta, Camara, Gueye, Diarra, Mane, Jackson, Sarr.
The match between Belgium and Senegal takes place at 3:00 AM on July 2nd (Vietnam time).
