The 2026 World Cup Round of 32 continued on Wednesday, with a fierce matchup between Senegal and Belgium.
The match started off with both teams playing well, but struggling to find the net. But in the 24th minute, Ismaila Sarr hit the post with a header before Habib Diarra cleaned it up to give Senegal a 1-0 lead.
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The play made Diarra the second Senegalese player ever to score a World Cup knockout round goal.
While Belgium maintained an advantage in the possession game, goalkeeper Mory Diaw played tremendous defense for Senegal. Heading into halftime, Senegal led 1-0.
In the second half, it didn’t take long for Sarr to redeem himself. He chested a long pass on the run and sent a beautiful shot past Thibaut Courtois in the 51st minute.
Both sides played strong defense for most of the remaining time, but Belgium came alive at the perfect time.
In the 86th minute, Romelu Lukaku sent the ball into the net off an assist from Thomas Meunier, cutting the deficit to one goal.
All of a sudden, Belgium had life and was far from finished. Leandro Trossard delivered a cross less than three minutes later, which was headed in by Youri Tielemans to tie it up 2-2 and force extra time.
The 30 minutes of stoppage time proved to be a gritty affair that culminated into a penalty call on Senegal’s Lamine Camara.
In the 125th minute, Tielemans found the top-right corner of the net on the penalty kick to secure the latest game-winner in World Cup history and advance to the Round of 16.
James Parker is a sports writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
