Belgium Advances to World Cup Round of 16 In A Suspenseful and Dramatic Match Against Senegal

By Niko Antoun

Seattle, WA- The World Cup Round of 32 kicked off in Seattle early Wednesday afternoon, in a clash between Belgium and Senegal that ended in a massive upset for the Belgian Red Devils and a landmark win for African football. The match went into extra time after Belgium came from behind within four minutes to level the match 2-2 by the end of regulation. In extra time, the two sides sat back a little bit more, playing relatively more conservatively. At the 125th minute of the match, Belgium won a vital and controversial last-minute penalty that sent the Red Devils into the Round of 16.

Belgium will face the United States back at Seattle Stadium in less than a week for the Round of 16. Kickoff will be at 5pm Pacific Time on Monday, July 6. In their game, the USA defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. Bosnia kept the majority of momentum and possession in that tightly contested match, but the United States prevailed based on expected goals and the scoreline, finishing the match with ten men.

Youri Tielemans effectively won the game for Belgium, where he scored their late equalizer, winning the decisive penalty, and converting it near the end of extra time. “This comeback is a proud moment because I scored the last two goals, to give the team the win today. So I’m very proud of that to be able to help the team and score goals obviously to bring us over the line,” said Tielemans, after the game.

Senegal put on a fantastic defensive display against Belgium in front of another sellout of 66,925 fans, where they made it very challenging for the Red Devils to find an opening in their final third. The number of expected goals and end-to-end action painted the excitement of the match, whereby at the end of extra time, it genuinely could have been anyone’s game. Senegal had the highest number of expected goals over Belgium, yielding 3.58 to 1.74, though Belgium had 52% possession.

“If you look the four games we play, I think today we were more solid,” said Senegal’s Krépin Diatta, after the match. “Until the 45 minute, I think is there where we miss control of the game and this should not happen because you have to be strong, you have to know that things will be hard. But in this moment you have to give everything, you have to defend your box like I said, you have to be the boss of your box … At the end, we lost the game. It’s a pity.”

Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network

Belgium’s defensive performance also kept Senegal at bay for increasing their lead throughout the game, keeping the Red Devils in the mix to make their two-goal comeback. After their victory, Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtiois spoke about his country’s defensive approach, acknowledging Senegal’s strength and how his side overall handled their attacking threat: “I think after (their goals), we defended really well, apart from the Mané chance, I don’t think they had really big chances. I think in extra time that one that went away, but apart of that, I think we defended pretty well. Also the corners, so I think we can be happy with the performance. It’s a World Cup, you play against tough teams, and eventually, yeah I think we can be happy.”

Belgium’s defensive performance also kept Senegal at bay for increasing their lead throughout the game, keeping the Red Devils in the mix to make their two-goal comeback. After their victory, Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtiois spoke about his country’s defensive approach, acknowledging Senegal’s strength and how his side overall handled their attacking threat: “I think after (their goals), we defended really well, apart from the Mané chance, I don’t think they had really big chances. I think in extra time that one that went away, but apart of that, I think we defended pretty well. Also the corners, so I think we can be happy with the performance. It’s a World Cup, you play against tough teams, and eventually, yeah I think we can be happy.”

The weather was noticeably cooler, an easier 17 to 20 degrees Celsius for playing football compared to the hotter week prior. Senegal head coach Pape Thaw was speaking about the city and environment the day before the match, saying that the cooler weather is ideal to play football in, especially compared to hotter weather that Senegal faced during the group stage.

Belgium's expected entire squad, including players like Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, and Courtois, started once again in Seattle. Senegal was similarly almost at full strength, starting their top players like Sadio Mané, Ismaila Sarr, and Iliman Ndiaye. In goal for Belgium was Courtois, their usual starter. However, a notable player not involved in Wednesday’s game was Edouard Mendy for Senegal, who was still out of action with a knee injury that he picked up during their game against Norway.

 Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network

Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku played for 56 minutes, being substituted out while the team was trailing 2-0, replaced by Nicolas Raskin and Dodi Lukebakio, respectively. Romelu Lukaku was substituted onto the pitch at halftime, replacing Charles De Ketelaere, and the Belgian veteran played a vital role in their two-goal comeback later in the second half.

Offensively, Belgium struggled to play like their usual selves against Senegal, and substitutions that forced the team to remove over-reliance in the center through De Bruyne and increase physical presence up top, like Lukaku, may have been a key decision by head coach Rudi Garcia that led to Belgium’s eventual victory.

Belgium played for their second time at Seattle Stadium, where their only other time was the opening group stage match, a 1-1 draw versus Egypt. Given that Belgium’s base camp is located at the Seattle Sounders’ training facility in Renton, WA, this Round of 32 match must have felt like a home match for the Red Devils.

Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network

Senegal had the first major attempt at opening the scoring after a lightning-quick sprint down the left wing from Ismail Jakobs, where Jakobs sent in a cross that had barely passed Courtois’ fingertips, despite getting a touch. Ismaila Sarr was the man in front of goal, and he put everything in to get first-time contact on the ball in the open goal through a lunge towards goal and unluckily hit the right-side post. Sarr made a second attempt while on the ground on the grass, but from the tighter angle, he could not get the ball on the correct side of the same post.

Chants for Senegal echoed around Seattle Stadium, as the Senegalese continued to be a strong offensive threat to Belgium, earning a few more chances and forwarding their momentum towards the Belgian penalty box. Belgium’s attacks came primarily through counterattacks at this stage, keeping the game open for either side to take an earlier first-half lead.

First blood was drawn by Senegal just before the first hydration break, who deservedly took the lead through a cross by Mane that found the head of Sarr, flicking the ball onto the right-hand post again. Habib Diarra was the one to give Senegal the lead, as the midfielder’s positioning paid off as he knocked the ball into the open goal.

Following the halftime break, Senegal doubled their lead through Ismaila Sarr, who controlled the ball perfectly off his chest while on the run in the Belgian penalty area, from a deep ball sent in by Moussa Niakhate, promptly executing a greatly timed finish past Courtois. Belgians, at this point, found themselves one step closer to an early World Cup upset, and Senegal kept pushing their momentum forward.

 Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network

 “We knew his [Sarr’s] speed would be dangerous that maybe we have to look better what we did wrong (on the second goal),” said Thibaut Courtiois, reflecting on Senegal’s second goal. “They have quality in the back to give those passes, so the moment he was free, maybe someone has to press faster and as a defense we had to drop back faster also. But that’s their quality also, and you have to give some props to the rival.”

Belgium kept persisting in attacking to save their World Cup lives, looking to test Mory Diaw, such as through a shot by Dodi Lukebakio that narrowly went wide of the top-left corner of the goal. Approaching the final ten minutes and still down by two goals, Belgium needed something quick in the early-closing stages of the match. Senegal stood its ground and locked in to keep Belgium goalless.

 Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network

Lukaku cut Belgium’s deficit in half at the 85th minute, keeping Belgian hopes alive and adding to the Senegalese suspense in holding onto their lead. Assisted by Thomas Meunier, Lukaku came on as a substitute after halftime and scored his seventh World Cup goal. The push for a Belgian equalizer was alive currently, and Belgium kept swimming for that vital moment.

Senegal’s long-kept lead disappeared within minutes as Tielemans saved Belgium’s World Cup life in the 89th minute to send the match into extra time. Tielemans beat Diaw to a cross sent by Leonardo Trossard, finding the header to level the score. Tielemans was taken out by the goalkeeper in the moment, but he won’t care, as Belgium’s hopes to advance to the round of 16 are alive. It will be a moment the Senegalese will want to forget, particularly Mory Diaw, who will regret not getting to the ball first.

“In these 10 minutes, we suffer but we let our chances go on,” said Diatta, talking about what went wrong for his side near the end of regulation, looking at the chances missed up top that opened the door for Belgium to come back.

Referee Hector Martínez called the end of regulation after seven minutes of stoppage time, confirming that Belgium and Senegal would go to extra time. Belgium continued their momentum in the first half of extra time, similarly trying to break down the Senegalese backline as they did in regulation. Senegal stayed defensively organized and maintained their strong defensive performance and composure, as they had for most of the game.

Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network

Belgium almost won the game in open play within the final few minutes of second-half extra time, where, after a cross from substitute Diego Moreira, the ball flies past Tielemans as he falls in the box, being poked towards Lukebakio by a defender, and a thumping shot by the substitute rattles the top of the crossbar to deny Belgium the immediate winner.

Following the close opportunity, VAR stepped in to check for a possible penalty during the initial cross and sent Martinez to the monitor to review the play. Tielemans appeared to be taken down with contact appearing to be at his calf by Senegal substitute midfielder Lamine Camara.

Players surrounded Referee Martinez after he was sent to the VAR monitor to review the play. Martinez ultimately awarded the penalty for Belgium, putting Senegal on the brink of heartbreak. The call was controversial, raising doubts about whether the ball was within Tieleman’s control. After minutes of arguments, Youri Tielemans stepped up for the decisive penalty and scored in the top-right corner, cementing Belgium’s ticket into the Round of 16.

“We’ve been practicing on it [penalties], and in that moment, you just try to be confident, to trust your abilities, that’s what I did and I scored, so I’m very happy with that,” said Tielemans, talking about his match-winning penalty. “Because of the knockouts, you know that it can go into penalties, so you practice after training. We’ve been practicing after every training.”

 Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network

Though Belgium was chasing this result for most of the match, the Red Devils found themselves leading at the perfect time. Senegal had only a few minutes to save themselves; now with the tables turned, their World Cup journey would come to an end. 

Nearing the final kick of the game, Senegal won a free kick at the top of the box as one final attempt to send the match to penalties. Pape Sarr stepped up for that free kick, with his country’s hopes of a final effort at an equalizer on the line. However, Sarr sent the free kick well over the crossbar, and Martinez immediately blew the final whistle.

Senegalese players collapsed on the Seattle Stadium grass, devastated, feeling like the match slipped away from their grasps. Belgium, on the other hand, likely felt the biggest relief in its life. Senegal will probably not forget the events at the end of this match for a long time, as Belgium moves on to face the United States in Seattle in the following week.

Cover Photo: Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network