Youri Tielemans scored a controversial late penalty to send Senegal home, capping an extraordinary Belgium comeback from 2-0 down deep in extra time. The winning goal, a nerveless spot-kick, came with 124 minutes and 44 seconds on the clock, making it the latest goal in World Cup history.
Penalty Decision Sparks Controversy
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 as long as possible. Belgium coach Rudi Garcia could not watch, turning his back on the sidelines before Tielemans seized on Belgium's get-out-of-jail card to set 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
Ismaïla Sarr doubled Senegal's lead six minutes into the second half after a wondrous control-and-finish that left Belgium stunned. 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, 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.
Belgium's Comeback
Belgium struggled to stem Senegal's flow until their late show. Garcia's raft of substitutes made an impact, with Lukaku replacing the ineffective Charles De Ketelaere at half-time. Lukaku eventually made his presence felt, converting Thomas Meunier's cross at the front post in the 86th minute after easing aside Ciss. 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, the Senegal goalkeeper again deputising for Édouard Mendy.
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. 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 highlighted the impact of a heated argument between Tielemans and Trossard during the second-half drinks break. "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."
