Belgium rally past Senegal 3-2 in extra time
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- Belgium erased a 2-0 deficit in the final minutes of regulation, with substitute Romelu Lukaku pulling one back in the 86th minute and Youri Tielemans equalizing in the 89th before netting the extra-time winner from the spot.
- Tielemans was fouled just before extra time ended, and the referee awarded the decisive penalty after a video review.
- Senegal struck first through Habib Diarra in the 25th minute and doubled the lead via Ismaïla Sarr, with Diarra having also scored in Senegal's 5-0 rout of Iraq earlier in the tournament.
- The match was interrupted in the 32nd minute when three people ran onto the field, prompting roughly a dozen security guards to intervene while Belgium defender Maxim De Cuyper held onto the ball.
- Senegal reached the knockout round as one of the best third-place finishers after navigating a group that included France and Erling Haaland-led Norway.
- Belgium won their group with five points and bounced back from failing to advance out of the group stage at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, following their historic third-place finish at the 2018 tournament in Russia.
Why it matters: Belgium avoided an embarrassing group-stage exit repeat after their 2022 Qatar elimination, surviving a two-goal deficit with three late goals capped by Tielemans's stoppage-time penalty. Senegal, one of Africa's tournament stories after topping a France-and-Norway group, exits despite leading for most of the match.
