Belgium 3-2 Senegal: Latest Goal in WC History
With four minutes of normal time to go, Senegal were 2-0 up, cruising, and one whistle away from the last 16. They are going home instead. Belgium scored twice in three minutes to drag the tie into extra time, then won it from the penalty spot in the 125th minute, the latest goal ever scored at a World Cup. Youri Tielemans took the kick, and a Senegal side that had been the better team for two hours was left staring at the turf.
How did Senegal take control?
For most of this match Senegal were excellent. Habib Diarra opened the scoring on 24 minutes and Ismaïla Sarr added a second six minutes into the second half, and neither goal flattered them. They were quicker, sharper and braver than Belgium, breaking at pace and winning the physical battles all over the pitch.
Belgium, meanwhile, looked exactly like the team their critics have been describing for years: slow, ageing and strangely passive on the big night. Two goals down and offering next to nothing going forward, they were being pulled apart by a Senegal side that fancied a long run in this tournament.
How did Belgium force extra time?
The rescue took three minutes and started on the bench. Romelu Lukaku, on at half-time, poked in a goal on 86 minutes that seemed at the time like a consolation. Then Youri Tielemans rose to meet a Thomas Meunier cross on 89 and powered a header past the goalkeeper to make it 2-2 out of nowhere.
You could feel the tie flip. Senegal had done everything right for 85 minutes and now had to start again, and Belgium, dead on their feet moments earlier, suddenly believed. Momentum in a knockout game is a strange thing, and all of it had swung across the pitch in the space of a couple of corners.
What happened with the penalty?
Extra time looked to be heading for a shootout until the 117th minute, when Lamine Camara caught Tielemans inside the box. The referee waved play on at first, then was sent to the pitchside monitor, and after a long, agonising review he pointed to the spot. Tielemans stepped up in the 125th minute and drove it in, the latest goal ever recorded at a World Cup.
It was a brutal way for Senegal to lose, and there will be plenty who argue the contact did not merit a penalty. Belgium will not care. Their captain finished with the equaliser and the winner, dragging a limp performance over the line almost single-handedly.
How cruel was this for Senegal?
Few teams will exit this tournament feeling more wronged. Senegal built a 2-0 lead they had earned, controlled the game for the vast majority of two hours, and still found a way to lose it in the last four minutes of normal time and a VAR call deep into extra time. Undone by their own inability to see out a winning position, and by the finest of margins at the end.
The group had looked at their earlier displays and sensed this was a squad capable of going deep. They may well have been right. That is what will hurt most on the flight home.
What does this mean for Belgium?
Belgium are through, and they got there having been comprehensively second best for the majority of the match. That is either a warning or a strength, depending on how you look at it. A team that plays this poorly and still wins clearly has something, even if the underlying worries about this generation are as loud as ever.
The reward is a Round-of-16 tie with the United States in Seattle, against a host nation that beat Bosnia with ten men. On this evidence Belgium will need a far better 90 minutes than they managed here. But in a bracket that keeps throwing up chaos, a team that simply refuses to lose is not one anybody will want to face.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the score in Belgium vs Senegal at World Cup 2026?
Belgium 3-2 Senegal after extra time. Belgium came from 2-0 down and won it with a 125th-minute Youri Tielemans penalty in the Round of 32 on July 1, 2026.
Who scored for Belgium against Senegal?
Romelu Lukaku scored on 86 minutes, Youri Tielemans headed the equaliser on 89, and Tielemans then converted the winning penalty in the 125th minute.
How did Senegal go 2-0 up?
Habib Diarra scored in the 24th minute and Ismaïla Sarr doubled the lead in the 51st, and Senegal controlled the game until Belgium's late surge.
Why was the Tielemans penalty historic?
At 125 minutes it is the latest goal ever scored in a World Cup match. It was awarded after a VAR review of Lamine Camara's foul on Tielemans in the 117th minute.
Who do Belgium play next at World Cup 2026?
Belgium advance to the Round of 16, where they face the United States in Seattle.
People Also Ask
Data sources
- Sky Sports — Belgium 3-2 Senegal (AET) report
- ESPN — Late penalty drama sees Belgium through
- France 24 — Belgium stun Senegal with dramatic comeback
- FIFA — World Cup 2026 official tournament hub
- Wikipedia — 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage
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