Youri Tielemans slotted a controversial late penalty to send Senegal home, capping an extraordinary Belgium comeback from 2-0 down deep in extra time. The winning goal came with 124 minutes and 44 seconds on the clock, cementing its place as the latest goal in World Cup history.
Controversial Penalty Decision
A penalty shootout appeared all but a formality until referee Saíd Martínez wandered towards the video review monitor, with players awaiting the verdict on Lamine Camara swiping Tielemans's left ankle in the seconds before Dodi Lukébakio skimmed the crossbar. Romelu Lukaku bounced the ball on the edge of the box as Senegal's players swamped the penalty spot; Pathé Ciss curled in a heap in an attempt to delay the spot-kick. Rudi Garcia could not watch, turning his back on the sidelines before Tielemans seized on Belgium's get-out-of-jail card to tee up a last-16 meeting with the USA on Monday. A tearful Camara was inconsolable at the final whistle, his green shirt still covering his face as he headed down the tunnel.
Senegal's Early Dominance
Belgium struggled to stem Senegal's flow until their late show. Ismaïla Sarr rattled a post inside 12 minutes and headed against the same post again on 24 minutes, but this time Habib Diarra feasted on the rebound. Sarr put Senegal in dreamland six minutes into the second half, eliminating three defenders including Arthur Theate after expertly taking Moussa Niakhaté's flighted pass in his stride. Sarr controlled the ball on his chest on the edge of the box, allowed it to bounce and then smacked a shot past Thibaut Courtois with his next touch. At that point, a Belgium victory appeared most unlikely.
Garcia's Substitutions Turn the Tide
It was hard to ignore the impact of Garcia's raft of substitutes. Lukaku replaced the ineffective Charles De Ketelaere at half-time and eventually made his presence felt, converting Thomas Meunier's cross at the front post in the 86th minute after easing aside Ciss. Lukébakio also undeniably made his mark from the bench, the Benfica winger introduced in place of Jérémy Doku. Nico Raskin replaced Kevin De Bruyne, who was reduced to playing cheerleader and among those who joined the extra-time pile-on.
Key Moments and Reactions
Things would have been very different had, with six minutes of regular time remaining, Courtois not prevented Senegal making it 3-0. Sadio Mané was influential in Diarra's opener, but hunting a goal himself he was denied when Courtois clambered down to his right. Five minutes later, Belgium restored parity, Tielemans building on Lukaku's smart finish with a brave header after meeting Leandro Trossard's dainty, on-the-money cross. Tielemans had pointed Trossard towards the space behind Niakhaté, and the Aston Villa midfielder, sandwiched between Niakhaté and Ismail Jakobs, soared high to beat Mory Diaw to the punch.
Trossard dropped to his knees to drink in the moment, Diego Moreira rushing to embrace the Arsenal forward. Senegal felt Niakhaté was shoved by Tielemans and the players protested against the award of the penalty, but afterwards their head coach, Pape Thiaw, declined to criticise the officiating. "It is a cruel loss," said Thiaw, part of the Senegal side that beat Sweden in 2002, their last World Cup knockout victory. "We had the advantage, we were leading 2-0, however a football match is not 85 minutes. Belgium came back and we were not able to deal with that."
Garcia Praises Team Grit
Garcia highlighted the stern words exchanged between Tielemans and Trossard during the second-half drinks break as a turning point. Lukaku and Raskin played peacemakers. "Lukaku tried to calm both of them down," Garcia said. "I don't know why they were arguing but I like that – we need that kind of grit on the pitch. When I took the team over 18 months ago, I thought they were very good when in control of the ball, but I thought they were not aggressive enough and that's not how you get a result – you need to be solid, you need to battle to be there. We're a better team if we keep this up."
"Football is emotions – it's never lost, you always need to believe," Garcia added, before returning to the contretemps that, together with his subs, perhaps proved the catalyst for the comeback. "The worst thing is not to say things and die, because we really wanted to change the situation, and that's what we did."
