Senegal's players were left furious after a late penalty in their World Cup clash against Belgium resulted in them being knocked out of the tournament. There was drama in the round of 32 clash in Seattle, with extra time needed to decide which team would progress to the last-16 of the tournament.
Belgium's Dramatic Comeback
Belgium claimed a 3-2 victory over Senegal, battling back from 2-0 down to recover to 2-2 at the end of the 90 minutes. Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr had put Senegal into a 2-0 lead and looked set to secure a place in the last-16, before goals from Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans saw the contest go to an extra 30 minutes.
Belgium were then awarded a penalty after a challenge from Lamine Camara on Tielemans, with the Aston Villa star stepping up to take the spot-kick and send his country through to the next round.
VAR Controversy
However, there was drama following the decision to award the penalty, with the Senegal players clearly unhappy with the decision. Referee Said Martinez did not initially give the penalty to Belgium, but did so after a VAR check. Senegal's players then surrounded the pitchside monitor following the decision, with some players standing around the penalty spot.
The fury from the Senegal players led to a lengthy delay in proceedings before Tielemans was able to take the penalty for Belgium, with more than 10 additional minutes being played in extra time. Tielemans stepped up and scored the penalty to send Belgium through to the last-16 of the World Cup, where they will face the winners of the round of 32 match between the United States and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Group Stage Performance
Belgium had finished at the top of Group G to secure their place in the knockout stages of the World Cup, but did so after a victory over New Zealand, along with draws with Egypt and Iran at the start of the tournament. The win for Belgium sees them become the latest team to secure a place in the last-16, joining the likes of Canada, Paraguay, Morocco, France, Brazil, Norway, England and Mexico.
If Belgium were to get past either the United States or Bosnia & Herzegovina, they would face either Spain, Austria, Portugal or Croatia in the quarter-final.
