Belgium staged a dramatic comeback to defeat Senegal 3-2 after extra time in their World Cup round of 32 match held in Seattle on June 30, 2026 [1, 2, 3]. Senegal had taken a 2-0 lead through goals from Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr before Belgium fought back late in the second half [4, 5, 6].
Romelu Lukaku opened Belgium's scoring in the 86th minute, marking his seventh World Cup goal [2, 6]. Youri Tielemans then scored the equaliser and later converted a contentious penalty in the 125th minute after a VAR review awarded Belgium a late spot-kick for a challenge by Senegal's Lamine Camara [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. The penalty sparked protests from Senegal, with coach Pape Bouna Thiaw saying, "We believed that there was no penalty. The players tried to challenge the decision. It's their right. And then the penalty was taken - and this is the reason why we are now eliminated" [4].
Belgium’s coach Rudi Garcia described the comeback as a "remontada," referencing Barcelona’s famous 2017 Champions League turnaround, and said, "It is a scenario that can make the group grow even stronger and tighter together and realise that up until the match is not finished, until the final whistle, a lot of things can happen as we just demonstrated today" [3, 7]. Garcia also noted, "Lukaku tried to calm both of them down, but I like that. It means that we have a lively team ... Leandro, Youri, they are two major players on the Belgian side" [2].
Senegal had entered the match missing injured goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, with Mory Diaw starting instead [8, 9]. After the defeat, tensions surfaced within the Senegal squad. Midfielder Pape Gueye announced he would take a break from the national team if Thiaw remains coach. "I'll come back later to say a few words about our elimination. But today I announce that, as long as this coaching staff remains in charge, I will take a break from the national team," he said [10]. Thiaw is currently banned for the first five matches of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers due to an earlier incident during the January AFCON final [10].
Belgium entered the knockout rounds fully fit for the first time in the tournament, with key players like Jeremy Doku and Zeno Debast returning to the lineup [1, 11]. The team had topped Group G after a 5-1 win over New Zealand and draws with Egypt and Iran [1, 12, 11]. Senegal advanced as the eighth-best third-placed team after losses to France and Norway and a 5-0 win over Iraq [8, 9].
The match took place in Seattle, which served as Belgium’s tournament base [1, 11, 6]. Belgium’s next World Cup match will follow as they progress past the round of 32 stage.
