Belgium stun Senegal with late comeback to reach World Cup round of 16

Belgium produced one of the tournament’s most dramatic turnarounds, coming from two goals down to beat Senegal 3-2 after extra time in Seattle, securing a spot in the round of 16 against either the United States or Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Senegal looked in control after Habib Diarra and Ismaïla Sarr put them 2-0 up early in the second half.

With his side facing elimination, coach Rudi Garcia made a bold move, withdrawing star players Jérémy Doku and Kevin De Bruyne in the 56th minute a decision that initially drew confusion from both players but ultimately reshaped the match.

Belgium’s fightback arrived late. Romelu Lukaku pulled a goal back in the 86th minute, and Youri Tielemans leveled with a header just three minutes later to force extra time.

The match was finally decided when Tielemans converted a penalty in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time  awarded after a VAR review of a challenge by Lamine Camara in what became the latest match-winning goal in World Cup history.

For Sarr, the result was bittersweet. His goal took him to four for the tournament and five overall, moving him within one strike of Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan as Africa’s all-time leading World Cup scorer, though  the exit of Senegal ended his hopes of the Golden Boot.

For Belgium, long seen as an underachieving “golden generation,” the comeback offers renewed belief that this squad including De Bruyne, Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois  can still make a deep run.