2026 World Cup: For Senegal, loss to Belgium was cruel case of déjà vu

by · The Seattle Times

For Senegal, Wednesday’s FIFA Men’s World Cup round of 32 result represented a particularly cruel form of déjà vu. 

Six months ago, the Lions of Teranga were on the wrong end of a questionable video assistant referee (VAR) decision. Facing Morocco deep into stoppage time of the 2025 CAF African Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, Senegal was left in disbelief when Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala returned from the monitor and ruled defender El Hadji Malick Diouf’s light tug on Moroccan midfielder Brahim Diaz’s shoulder during a corner kick was enough to warrant a penalty. 

Senegal was outraged, leaving the field for more than 15 minutes before returning to the field of play. But the Lions of Teranga were rescued when goalkeeper Édouard Mendy saved Diaz’s penalty kick, and Senegal went on to win the game in extra time. 

No such salvation existed in Seattle. 

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Senegal’s 2026 World Cup campaign ended against Belgium in Seattle on Wednesday, after a last-minute penalty awarded by Honduran official Saíd Martínez after a VAR check was converted by Red Devil midfielder Youri Tielemans in the 125th minute to give Belgium a 3-2 lead. It was the latest goal ever scored in World Cup history, and completed the Red Devils’ unlikely comeback. 

“It’s disappointing,” Senegal defender Moussa Niakhaté said in French. “It’s very, very disappointing. I can’t imagine Senegal and Dakar. All over Senegal, all over the world, I think we made them proud for five months, and in all honesty, I think that we disappointed them today. I don’t want to say sorry, because a sportsman shouldn’t say sorry. But we are really disappointed in their image, and we really wanted to do better.” 

Senegal’s defeat was decided by a few frames caught by Mexican video assistant referee Guillermo Pacheco. With the game tied 2-2 in the 117th minute, Belgium left winger Diego Moreira fired a low cross across the face of Senegal’s goal where Tielemans and Senegal’s 22-year-old midfielder Lamine Camara surged toward the front post. 

Neither reached the ball, which ricocheted off a Senegal defender right to Belgium’s Dodi Lukébakio. His shot glanced off the cross bar and over the goal. But VAR called for a check on Camara’s challenge against Tielemans, and Martínez eventually awarded a penalty to Belgium after a lengthy review. Senegal coach Pape Thiaw declined to comment on the referees after the game. 

So Tielemans stepped up to the spot with a chance to send his country through to the round of 16. And unlike the AFCON final in January, Senegal didn’t have Mendy, the former Chelsea shot stopper, in goal. The first-choice goalkeeper hasn’t played since injuring his leg against Norway on June 22, meaning Thiaw had to turn to second-choice goalkeeper Mory Diaw. 

It didn’t matter. Tielemans smashed a perfect penalty into the upper-right corner that Diaw never had a chance at saving and gave Belgium, which had trailed 2-0 until the 86th minute, its first lead of the game. Eight minutes later, after 133 minutes of play, Martínez blew the final whistle. Senegal’s players collapsed to the field in heartache.

“Getting to this stage of the competition, if mentally you are not ready, you have to ask yourself questions,” right back Krépin Diatta said in French. “Because we failed. We failed. We were at the heart of writing the beautiful pages of the history of our football in this (World Cup), and we have to accept that we failed at our mission. I can’t even imagine in the head of a Senegalese, because I put them in their place and frankly, they deserve better.”

A victory for Senegal would’ve been historic. The Lions of Teranga haven’t won a knockout game at the World Cup since 2002 when they reached the quarterfinals, the longest tournament run in Senegal’s history. Longtime stalwarts like Mendy, Sadio Mané, Kalidou Koulibaly and Idrissa Gana Gueye are all in their mid 30s and may not be available for the next World Cup in 2030.

It might’ve meant even more for Senegal considering the aftermath of the 2025 AFCON final. Despite winning 1-0 in extra time following Mendy’s heroic penalty save, Senegal was stripped of the title victory by CAF — African soccer’s governing body — in March after Morocco appealed the result, arguing the Lions of Teranga had forfeited by abandoning the field of play when they walked off the field following the penalty call. 

Senegal appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in response to CAF’s ruling, but there is no timetable for the decision. And while Senegal’s tournament is finished, it’ll have to watch Morocco play in the round of 16 after it defeated the Netherlands in a penalty shootout Monday.  

Thiaw’s squad will wonder what might’ve happened if it had reached penalties against Belgium, but it will also rue the opportunity that escaped it during the final four minutes of regulation. 

Senegal played a virtually flawless game for 85 minutes. The Lions of Teranga took the lead in the 24th minute after midfielder Habib Diallo pounced on a rebound caused when striker Ismaïla Sarr’s header hit the goal post. They doubled their advantage with a stunning goal in the 51st minute, when Sarr brought down a perfectly weighted long ball from Niakhaté with his chest, then finished clinically past Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois

But late collapses have been a theme for Senegal at the World Cup. Eight of the nine goals the Lions of Teranga conceded during the tournament were during the second half, with five coming after the 82nd minute.

Belgium’s comeback started in earnest in the 86th minute, when Red Devil substitute Romelu Lukaku scored from close range to halve the deficit. Three minutes later, Tielemans beat Diaw to a cross, flicking a header into the open goal for the equalizer in the 89th minute. His penalty in extra time was simply the final, heart-rending nail in Senegal’s coffin.

“This is football,” Thiaw said in French. “Football is a cruel sport. It’s not an easy one. We must accept, even though it may be hard, and then continue. It’s not easy. It’s not easy for me. It’s not easy for the players. We really wanted for our country to progress to the round of 16.”