The decisive blow landed in the fifth minute of stoppage time at the end of extra time, when Belgium captain Youri Tielemans swept a penalty into the top corner to seal a 3-2 victory over Senegal and a place in the last 16 of the 2026 World Cup. The spot-kick, awarded after a lengthy VAR review for a foul by Lamine Camara on Tielemans himself, was the latest goal ever scored in the tournament’s history, at 124 minutes and 44 seconds. Senegalese players surrounded the referee in protest, and defender Pathé Ciss lay on the penalty spot in a futile attempt to delay the inevitable, but Tielemans remained composed to complete a turnaround that had seemed impossible only minutes earlier.

Senegal had controlled the contest for 85 minutes at Seattle’s Lumen Field, building a deserved two-goal lead through Habib Diarra and Ismaïla Sarr. Diarra pounced on a rebound after Sarr’s header struck the post in the 25th minute, and Sarr doubled the advantage six minutes into the second half with a stunning chest control and volley from Moussa Niakhaté’s long pass. The African champions, who had scraped into the knockout rounds as one of the best third-placed teams, were sharper, faster and more coherent than a Belgian side that appeared listless and fractured, with Kevin De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku substituted before the hour and captain Tielemans involved in a heated exchange with Leandro Trossard during a cooling break.

The match turned in a three-minute burst at the end of normal time. Romelu Lukaku, introduced at half-time, turned in Thomas Meunier’s low cross in the 86th minute to give Belgium hope. Then, in the 89th minute, goalkeeper Mory Diaw misjudged Trossard’s cross, allowing Tielemans to head into an empty net and force extra time. The momentum had shifted entirely, and although Senegal created chances in the additional 30 minutes, Belgium substitute Dodi Lukebakio struck the crossbar before the VAR intervention that led to the decisive penalty.

Viewed from Dakar, the defeat was a cruel echo of Senegal’s recent heartbreaks, including the loss of the Africa Cup of Nations title on a technicality earlier in the year. European analysts noted that Belgium’s golden generation, written off after a poor group stage, had now produced the second two-goal comeback in a World Cup knockout match in the nation’s history, following the 3-2 win over Japan in 2018. Lukaku later admitted he had declined to take the penalty because he was not mentally ready, handing the ball to Tielemans, who had already scored the equaliser.

Belgium will remain in Seattle to face the winner of the United States–Bosnia and Herzegovina tie in the round of 16 on 6 July. Senegal become the fifth African team to exit the tournament, leaving Algeria, Egypt, Ghana and Cape Verde as the continent’s remaining representatives.