Belgium Stun Senegal With Latest-Ever World Cup Goal
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- Senegal led Belgium 2-0 with four minutes of normal time remaining through goals from Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr before collapsing in extraordinary fashion.
- Romelu Lukaku came off the bench to spark Belgium's revival, scoring at 86 minutes before Youri Tielemans headed an equaliser three minutes later to force extra time.
- Tielemans then converted a penalty at 124 minutes 44 seconds — the latest goal ever recorded in World Cup history — after a controversial VAR review awarded the spot kick for Lamine Camara's challenge.
- Belgium became the first team to win a World Cup match after trailing by two or more goals since they beat Japan 3-2 in 2018, and only the third team ever to overturn such a deficit.
- Senegal manager Pape Thiaw said "we have to accept this," as the defeat echoed their controversial Afcon final loss to Morocco in January that led to them being stripped of the title.
- Pundits Roy Keane and Gary Neville questioned the penalty, with Keane noting the referee "was hesitating for a long time" at the VAR screen.
- Belgium now face co-hosts United States in the last 16, with five members of their 2018 third-place squad — Courtois, De Bruyne, Meunier, Lukaku and Axel Witsel — still involved.
Why it matters: Belgium's comeback, led by five remaining 2018 veterans including Lukaku off the bench, keeps their World Cup run alive heading into a last-16 meeting with co-hosts United States. Senegal absorb their second late, VAR-influenced heartbreak of 2026, following their January Afcon title stripping, compounding manager Pape Thiaw's recent adversity.
