Teranga Lions of Senegal set an unwanted record following their dramatic defeat to Belgium in Wednesday’s FIFA World Cup 2026 round of 32.
Senegal were ahead 2-0 with less than five minutes left to play before Belgium staged a dramatic comeback to turn the game around and won 3-2 after extra-time.
According to Stats Foot, the defeat means Senegal becomes the first team in history to be eliminated in the knockout stage of the World Cup after leading by a two-goal margin at the 85th minute of play.
Pape Thiaw’s side led Belgium 2-0 with only four minutes left of normal time, after goals from Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr.
But after outplaying their opponents, they somehow found a way to lose the game following goals from Romelu Lukaku and captian Youri Tielemans who bagged a brace.
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Lukaku’s 86th-minute goal sparked hope for Belgium and three minutes later, Tielemans headed in an equaliser from Leandro Trossard’s cross – the pair were earlier seen having a heated argument – to force extra time.
Then came the controversial penalty, awarded for Lamine Camara’s challenge on Tielemans following a video assistant referee (VAR) review, and converted by the skipper himself on 125 minutes.
Earlier on Wednesday, DR Congo also surrendered their lead to lose to England thanks to a Harry Kane double.
So far, six of the 10 African teams that qualified for this year’s World Cup have been eliminated, leaving Ghana, Cape Verde, Egypt and Morocco as the only countries left.
