Belgium were 2-0 down to Senegal at the World Cup when Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard and Aston Villa’s Youri Tielemans were involved in a heated exchange
Arsenal star Leandro Trossard and Belgium teammate Youri Tielemans needed to be separated by Romelu Lukaku and fellow teammates moments before they staged a remarkable World Cup comeback against Senegal. The Arsenal and Aston Villa players were embroiled in a heated confrontation as they exchanged words during the second half.
Belgium were trailing 2-0 at the time of the heated exchange, following strikes from Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr which put Senegal firmly in control.
Rudi Garcia’s team appeared a considerable distance from the team that secured third place at the World Cup in 2018, exiting the competition against opponents ranked lower in FIFA’s standings.
Tensions rose shortly before the second hydration break during the match in Seattle. Tielemans had delivered a good pass towards the far post, yet no Belgium player attempted to meet it.
Lukaku remained motionless in the centre of the penalty area, with Trossard and Tielemans subsequently engaging in an angry confrontation after the delivery failed to find a teammate and sailed out of play.
Nicolas Raskin, who had just entered the field replacing Kevin De Bruyne, was forced to intervene to separate the two players as they departed the pitch, before team-mate Lukaku helped force the duo apart from each other. Yet somehow, the altercation appeared to galvanise Belgium, entirely against the run of play.
Moments after the confrontation, substitute Thomas Meunier placed a loose ball towards Lukaku at the front post in the 86th minute. The Napoli forward — as he has so often throughout his international career — placed the ball into the back of the net past Diaw with a neat first-time finish to pull one back.
With just four minutes remaining for Belgium to find a way back, and as though it had been scripted, the two feuding Premier League stars combined to secure a late equaliser.
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Trossard floated a looping cross towards the far post and Tielemans rose highest — beating Senegal goalkeeper Diaw to the ball — and placed a header into the back of the net.
It was an unfortunate moment from Senegal’s perspective, but Trossard and Tielemans appeared to have put their frustrations to one side after linking up for the goal. The pair embraced following their contribution in bringing Belgium level, grinning as they strolled back to the halfway line and sending the match into extra-time.
Belgium went on to win the game thanks to a late penalty from Tielemans, who sent his country through to the last-16 where they will face either the United States or Bosnia & Herzegovina.
