Belgium managed to avoid elimination twice against Senegal thanks to Youri Tielemans, who scored in the final minutes of both regular time and extra time. The Red Devils are now preparing to face the round of 16 of the World Cup. Both teams, Belgium and Senegal, had struggled in the group stage, but finished with convincing victories: Belgium beat New Zealand 5-1 and Senegal triumphed 5-0 against Iraq. Despite the good morale, it was Senegal who was ready at the start of the match. After a few minutes, Thibaut Courtois took a risk by granting a chance to Ismaïla Sarr, who hit the post from close range. Shortly afterwards, however, Habib Diarra scored the first goal for Senegal, making the score 1-0.
In the first half, Belgium struggled to create any significant chances, with Maxim De Cuyper attempting to score without success. In the second half, Senegal continued to dominate, and after an excellent move from Sadio Mané, Diarra doubled the lead with a beautiful goal, bringing the score to 2-0.
At that point, manager Rudi García had to react, replacing Kevin De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku with Dodi Lukébakio and Nicolas Raskin. The move paid off in the final: in the 86th minute, Lukaku closed the gap with an assist from Thomas Meunier. A minute later, Tielemans headed the equalizer, taking the match to extra time.
During extra time, Belgium had the dominance, but an action by Ibrahim Mbaye made the Red Devils worried. In the last minute, Lukébakio hit the crossbar and, following contact, VAR awarded a penalty for Belgium. Tielemans converted the penalty, giving the Red Devils victory and ensuring that Senegal was eliminated from the World Cup. Now Belgium is waiting to know their opponent in the round of 16, which will be the winner between the United States and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
