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Trossard and Tielemans nearly come to blows before saving Belgium against Senegal

Trailing 2-0 by Senegal in the World Cup round of 16, Leandro Trossard and Youri Tielemans almost came to physical blows during a cooling break before reconciling in the best possible way: an assist and a winning penalty in extra time.

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Trossard and Tielemans nearly come to blows before saving Belgium against Senegal
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Belgium secured qualification against Senegal in the World Cup round of 16 after extra time, but the path nearly turned to disaster, both on the pitch and in the dressing room. Trailing 2-0, Leandro Trossard and Youri Tielemans came close to a physical altercation before teammate Nicolas Raskin stepped in.

The Red Devils were already in a critical situation when Habib Diarra (24th minute) and then Ismaïla Sarr (51st minute) put Senegal in command. Romelu Lukaku’s introduction at half-time and the departures of Kevin De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku in the 55th minute had slightly revived the team, but tension reached its peak during the cooling break in the second half.

After a missed shot by Trossard, the two players exchanged words from a distance before heading toward each other. The situation seemed about to escalate when Raskin intervened to separate the two men and restore calm.

Reconciliation did not take long to take spectacular form. Twenty minutes later, Trossard delivered a cross that Tielemans headed home to equalize at 2-2. The two men then fell into each other’s arms. In extra time, Tielemans completed the comeback by converting the decisive penalty, definitively erasing the tensions of the evening.

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