Belgium looked to be heading out of the World Cup. Two goals down to a lively Senegal side, the Europeans instead mounted a late rescue and then an extra-time winner, coming through 3-2 in a round-of-32 tie in Seattle to keep their tournament alive.
Senegal in control
For an hour, the match belonged to Senegal. Habib Diarra put the West African side ahead in the 25th minute, and Ismaïla Sarr doubled the lead in the 51st, ESPN reported. At 2-0, with time ticking down, Senegal appeared to be cruising toward the last 16 while Belgium struggled to find a way through.
The comeback
The turnaround, when it came, was sudden. Romelu Lukaku pulled a goal back in the 86th minute, and the pressure told again almost immediately: Youri Tielemans leveled the score in the 89th to force extra time and complete the recovery from two goals down.
The additional 30 minutes could not separate the sides in open play, and the decisive moment arrived at the very end. Tielemans converted a penalty in the 125th minute to settle the tie — a goal ESPN noted as the latest scored in a World Cup knockout match. For Belgium, it was a second goal on the night for Tielemans and a release of pressure after a nervy evening; for Senegal, it was a cruel way to exit, having led for so long.
A rare recovery
Comebacks of this kind are unusual at this stage of a World Cup. According to ESPN, it was only the second time in the past 11 tournaments that a team trailing by two or more goals in a knockout match had gone on to advance — a measure of how rarely such deficits are overturned when a single defeat ends the campaign.
Next up: the hosts
Belgium's reward is a high-profile last-16 meeting with the United States, who reached the same stage by beating Bosnia and Herzegovina. The tie pairs a country with a long tournament pedigree against a host nation riding a wave of home support, and playing on American soil will only sharpen the occasion.
For Belgium, survival was the headline. A team that spent much of the night second-best found a way to win when it mattered — and, however uneven the performance, remains in the tournament with a marquee fixture to come.
