Belgium Reach FIFA World Cup Round of 16 After Dramatic Win Over Senegal

Belgium completed one of the great FIFA World Cup comebacks, beating Senegal 3-2 after extra time at Seattle Stadium in Washington to secure a place in the Round of 16.

The match appeared to be heading toward a penalty shootout before Belgium was awarded a spot-kick following a lengthy VAR review of Lamine Camara’s foul on Youri Tielemans.

Belgium captain Tielemans stayed calm under pressure and converted the penalty in the 125th minute, sending the ball into the top-right corner to seal a dramatic victory in a frantic Round-of-32 clash.

Rudi Garcia’s side will now face either the United States in Tuesday’s last-16 match.

Senegal had looked in control for most of the game after taking a two-goal lead. Habib Diarra opened the scoring in the 24th minute after Sadio Mane curled in a cross from the left. Ismaila Sarr’s flicked header beat Thibaut Courtois but came back off the post, allowing Diarra to convert the rebound.

Sarr then doubled Senegal’s lead in the 51st minute with a brilliant finish. He got ahead of the two Belgian center-backs, controlled a long ball with his chest and smashed his shot past Courtois.

Senegal looked set to advance to the Round of 16, but Belgium responded late with two goals in three minutes to force extra time.

Romelu Lukaku, who came on as a substitute, started the comeback in the 86th minute. Thomas Meunier delivered a low cross from the right, and Lukaku latched onto it before flicking the ball past Mory Diaw.

Two minutes later, Tielemans brought Belgium level. Leandro Trossard sent in an inswinging cross from the right, and Diaw missed his punch, allowing Tielemans to head the ball into an empty net.

Tielemans then completed Belgium’s comeback deep into extra time, scoring from the penalty spot to send his team through after a thrilling 3-2 win.