Belgium break Senegal hearts with controversial extra time penalty after trailing till 85th minute

Published: July 02, 2026 01:29 AM IST

Updated: July 02, 2026 04:24 AM IST

Youri Tielemans converted a controversial penalty in the final moments of extra time to take Belgium to the round of 16, knocking out Senegal, who were guilty of squandering a two-goal advantage that had remained till the 85th minute at the Seattle Stadium.

Dodi Lukebakio hit the bar from inside the box and thought he had missed the last big chance. However, the sequence of events in the Belgian penalty area ended with Lamine Camara clipping Tielemans’s ankle, resulting in a spot kick after a VAR review.

Earlier, Belgium scored twice in three minutes. Senegal led 2-0 until the 85th minute before they lost focus and conceded two in little over 160 seconds. Captain Tielemans glanced a header into a vacant net in the 89th minute as goalkeeper Mory Diaw misjudged the flight of the ball.

Three minutes ago, substitute Romelu Lukaku outmuscled his marker to finish from close range to give Belgium a lifeline. Until that goal sneaked in, Belgium hardly had clear-cut chances. Senegal, on the other hand, were wasteful since going 2-0 up in the 51st minute.

Ismaila Sarr scored with a sumptuous take and a powerful finish after Habib Diarra’s 24th-minute opener. Sarr, who assisted Diarra’s goal, controlled a Moussa Niakhate’s long ball gracefully on his chest before firing past a stranded Thibaut Courtois.

The second goal forced Rudi Garcia to make a couple of bold substitutions by taking off Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku. Lukaku, who started on the bench, had been summoned at half time.

Diarra had been at the right place to turn in the opener after Sarr’s glancing header came off the upright from a Sadio Mane cross. Diarra, who was alert to the situation, poked it past Courtois.

In three earlier round of the 32 matches, in which African nations faced European opponents, the latter won twice. Senegal had a great chance to help Africa achieve parity with Europe, but missed their opportunity.

Morocco’s stunning shootout win over the Netherlands is the only African win over a European opposition in the knockout stages so far. In the previous match on the day, England survived a scare from DR Congo to advance, with Harry Kane scoring twice.

Erling Haaland scored in a 2-1 win over Norway over the Ivory Coast, sending out a third African side from nine that advanced from the group stages.