Belgium coach salutes Tielemans after World Cup rescue act

Belgium coach Rudi Garcia praised captain Youri Tielemans on Wednesday after the midfielder scored a 125th-minute penalty to complete a 3-2 extra-time comeback against Senegal in the World Cup last 32. The win, secured in Seattle, sent Belgium through to the last 16.

How did Belgium beat Senegal at the World Cup?

Senegal led 2-0 with five minutes of normal time left before Belgium struck twice through Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans to force extra time. Tielemans then converted a penalty in the 125th minute after a lengthy delay, completing the turnaround. The result eliminated Senegal and sent Belgium into the World Cup last 16.

The Aston Villa midfielder faced a long wait before taking the kick, as Senegal's players surrounded the penalty spot. He calmly dispatched the effort to cap an improbable turnaround.

"What matters is that Youri Tielemans had the composure and the quality," said Garcia. "Once again, we have the experience to take that kind of penalty, because it's not easy."

"At 2-2, in the 120th minute or even later, when you're tired, and Youri was feeling it physically, to go and score that penalty is a difficult task," Garcia added. "He succeeded. As a result, he has sent us through to the round of 16. I think he was outstanding."

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Belgium will stay in Seattle to face either co-hosts the United States or Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 6 for a quarter-final place. For much of the afternoon, it looked as though the golden generation of Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who helped Belgium finish third at the 2018 World Cup, was heading for an early exit.

"Going 2-0 down and then coming back to make it 2-2 gives you a huge lift, and now the journey continues," Garcia said. "It's true that a scenario like this can bring a group even closer together. It can make the players realise that, until a match is over and the final whistle has blown, anything can happen, as we showed."

Why did Senegal's coach call the exit cruel?

Senegal coach Pape Thiaw admitted it was a "cruel" way for his team to leave the tournament. Habib Diarra turned in a rebound after Ismaila Sarr's header struck the post, and Sarr then matched Roger Milla's record for the most goals by an African player at a single World Cup with his fourth of the tournament. A late collapse allowed Belgium to complete an unlikely escape.

"We had the game in hand, we were leading 2-0, and we sat back a bit towards the end because we wanted to protect the lead," Thiaw said. "Once we conceded for 2-1, we dropped even deeper, and they got their second goal. It wasn't easy, we tried to get back on our feet, but it unfortunately didn't work out."

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Thiaw declined to be drawn into a debate over the penalty decision, though he felt his side had been hard done by. Memories of Senegal's walk-off protest after a late penalty award in the Africa Cup of Nations final in Morocco in January resurfaced, but there was no such reaction this time.

"When we looked at it, our interpretation was that there was no penalty," Thiaw said. "The players tried to contest it. It's their right, but they respected the referee's decision. It's not easy to lose this kind of match. Unfortunately, it slipped away from us, but it's football, it's cruel, it's not easy at all, but you have to accept, even if it's difficult."