Tielemans penalty in 125th minute completes Belgium's comeback to eliminate Senegal at World Cup

Youri Tielemans scored a VAR-awarded penalty in the 125th minute to send Belgium into the World Cup last 16 with a 3-2 extra-time victory over Senegal in Seattle, sparking furious protests from the Senegalese players that delayed the spot-kick by more than ten minutes.

Senegal had looked set to advance after Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr gave them a commanding 2-0 lead, but Romelu Lukaku and Tielemans dragged Belgium level before the end of normal time to force an additional 30 minutes.

The decisive moment arrived when referee Said Martinez, having initially waved play on, was directed to the pitchside monitor by VAR and reversed his decision, awarding Belgium a penalty for a Lamine Camara challenge on Tielemans. The ruling incensed Senegal’s players, who surrounded the monitor and congregated around the penalty spot in protest, causing a prolonged stoppage before order was restored.

Tielemans, who had already scored Belgium’s equaliser, kept his composure to convert and complete one of the more dramatic turnarounds of the tournament.

Belgium had topped Group G, winning against New Zealand and drawing with both Egypt and Iran, before this bruising round-of-32 encounter. They now await the winners of the United States versus Bosnia & Herzegovina tie in the last 16, with a potential quarter-final against Spain, Austria, Portugal or Croatia beyond that.

Senegal’s exit leaves their players and supporters with a deep sense of grievance over the officiating, though the VAR intervention was ultimately upheld. Belgium, for their part, showed considerable resilience to recover from two goals down and finish the job in the most fraught of circumstances.