The match that might be the most exciting and dramatic in the tournament so far ended with Belgium beating Senegal 3-2 at the Seattle stadium in the USA, in the Round of 32 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Senegal was the better, more dangerous team, and closer to qualifying for 80 minutes of the game. Then, Belgium came back from the dead, turned the game around, and snatched the ticket to the Round of 16.
Match Highlights and Goals
Senegal opened the scoring in the 25th minute through Habib Diarra, and finished the first half as the stronger and dominating side in every way.
In the second half, Senegal confirmed their dominance right from the start and doubled their lead with a second goal by Ismaila Sarr in the 51st minute. All signs were positive that things were settled for the Lions of Teranga.
After reaching the 80th minute, the Belgian team woke up as if they came back from the dead. After being far behind in performance and the score, they managed to cut the gap with a goal by Romelu Lukaku in the 86th minute. Then, they scored the equalizer through Youri Tielemans, who jumped high and scored a header that brought his team back into the competition.
Going into extra time, Belgium kept the pressure on and became the better side. Senegal looked shocked, their performance dropped, and they could no longer threaten the opponent's goal. Things stayed like this until Senegal player Lamine Camara committed a foul inside the penalty area in the last minute of the second half of extra time.
Referee Said Martinez checked the incident using VAR. He looked at it over and over again until he finally confirmed it was a penalty. Youri Tielemans stepped up with calm and confidence, scoring the penalty to send his team to the Round of 16 to face the winner of the USA and Bosnia-Herzegovina match.
