Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Belgium must use their World Cup “remontada” against Senegal as fuel for the rest of their campaign in North America, so says head coach Rudi Garcia.
Garcia watched on as Belgium booked their place in the last 16 with an extra-time victory at Seattle Stadium, with Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans the heroes.
The Red Devils appeared set for another disappointing early exit as strikes from Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr had Senegal two goals to the good up until the 86th minute.
However, two goals in three minutes from Lukaku and Tielemans forced extra time, and penalties were looming until the fifth minute of stoppage time in the second half.
Lamine Camara was penalised for a foul inside the box on Tielemans following a VAR review, with the Belgium captain stepping up and dispatching the resulting spot-kick.
Tielemans’ winning penalty was the latest goal ever scored in World Cup history (124:44).
Belgium also trailed 2-0 as late as the 85th minute, the latest in a World Cup game in normal time a team has trailed by 2+ goals and avoided defeat, and Garcia urged his players to enjoy their triumph ahead of the next round.
“I arrived 18 months ago because I believe that there’s quality in this team. It’s not the best of all time, but tonight we wrote history,” Garcia told reporters.
“We didn’t win anything, we qualified for the round of 16, and we’ll see who we’re going to face.
“It doesn’t matter who it’s going to be. Now we’re going to savour our victory and our ‘remontada’.”
Belgium are the first side to win a World Cup match, having trailed by 2+ goals since the Red Devils themselves against Japan in 2018.
They are only the second side to win two such games in the competition, along with Germany against Hungary in 1954 and England in 1970.
Good morning, Belgium. pic.twitter.com/Z2BvMZIIaF
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) July 2, 2026
But Belgium were second-best for much of the contest, having registered an expected goals (xG) total of 1.74 from 19 shots to Senegal’s 3.58 from the same number of attempts.
Indeed, Garcia’s side scored with both of their shots on target in the second half of this game (normal time), with the two goals coming just 159 seconds apart.
“Football is emotions. We had plenty,” Garcia added. “When you’re down 2-0 in the 83rd minute, it’s never easy to come back and win the match.
“But this is what I said to the players at the hydration break: we had to score the third goal in the match and then anything is possible.
“We did it, we delivered, and then they opened up the game again.
“It is a scenario that can make the group grow even stronger and tighter together and realise that up until the match is not finished, until the final whistle, a lot of things can happen as we just demonstrated today.”
For Senegal, meanwhile, their hopes of just a second World Cup win in the knockout stages were snatched away from them in dramatic fashion.
They fell just short of a potential tie against co-hosts the United States, though Senegal did become the first African team to score 10 goals in a single edition of the World Cup.
Senegal boss Pape Thiaw described the result as a “cruel defeat” for his players, but he disagreed with the awarding of the late Tielemans penalty.
“It was a cruel defeat,” Thiaw said. “We played well and we were leading 2-0. But a football match doesn’t last 85 minutes.
“Belgium came back, and we couldn’t deal with that. We also had our chances, but we have to congratulate Belgium because they qualified.
“When the penalty was awarded, we had our own interpretation. We didn’t think it was a penalty.
“Our players questioned the decision because they believed they had the right to do so. Belgium scored from it, and that goal knocked us out.”
FIFA World Cup News
Martinez hopeful Ronaldo is not set for ‘last dance’ against Croatia
FIFA World Cup News
Kane, Mbappe, Messi and Haaland are ‘sharks who smell blood’ at World Cup, says Tuchel
FIFA World Cup News
Neuer heads back into retirement with no regrets
FIFA World Cup News
Kane admits England relied on ‘hero moments’ after great escape against DR Congo
FIFA World Cup News
Mexico boss Aguirre hails career-highlight win
FIFA World Cup News
Paqueta’s World Cup participation in doubt
We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Discover more from NAIRAVOICE.COM.NG
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
