On Wednesday, African champions Senegal crashed out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after squandering a two-goal lead.

The Africans lost the round-of-32 match to Belgium after fumbling a two-goal lead in the last four minutes of regulation time, and eventually lost 3-2 in the last minute of extra time.

Habib Diarra put Senegal in front in the 25th minute, and Ismaïla Sarr added to their tally in the 51st minute, before substitute 33-year-old Romelu Lukaku pulled one back in the 86th minute for Belgium, while in the 89th minute, Youri Tielemans drew level.

Both teams fought hard to break the deadlock, and just when the match was looking like it was headed for a penalty shootout, the Video Assistant Referee spotted a tackle in the box, and the Honduras referee, Said Martinez, pointed to the penalty spot, which Tielemans converted in the 125th.

The result was the second time in the last 11 World Cups that a team trailing by two or more goals in the knockout round would win and qualify for the next stage. Belgium achieved a similar result against Japan in the round of 16 in Brazil 2018.

Belgium have now set up a round-of-16 tie against co-hosts the U.S., scheduled for Tuesday, for a place in the quarter-final.