Belgium coach salutes Tielemans after escape act against Senegal

SEATTLE — Belgium coach Rudi Garcia hailed captain Youri Tielemans after the midfielder's last-gasp penalty completed an astonishing 3-2 comeback victory over Senegal in the World Cup round of 32 on Wednesday.

Senegal looked set for a place in the next round, as it led by two goals with five minutes remaining, but Belgium produced a dramatic fightback through strikes from Romelu Lukaku and Tielemans to force extra time in Seattle.

Tielemans then held his nerve to convert a penalty in the 125th minute to send Belgium into the last 16.

The Aston Villa player faced a lengthy delay before taking the kick, as Senegal players surrounded the spot, but he calmly dispatched his effort to cap an improbable turnaround.

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

"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. He succeeded.

"As a result, he has sent us through to the round of 16. Congratulations to our captain. I think he was outstanding."

Belgium will stay in Seattle to play co-host the United States on July 6 for a place in the quarterfinals.

For much of the afternoon, it seemed the curtain was about to fall on the last remnants of Belgium's golden generation — Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and perhaps goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois — who helped lead the country to a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup.

Instead, a late act of defiance from the Belgians means they live to fight another day.

"Going 2-0 down, and then coming back to make it 2-2 gives you a huge lift, and now the journey continues," said Garcia.

"It's true that a scenario like this can bring a group even closer together.

"It can make the players realize that, until a match is over and the final whistle has blown, anything can happen — as we showed."

'Slipped away'

Senegal coach Pape Thiaw admitted it was a "cruel" way for his team to exit the tournament.

Habib Diarra turned in a rebound after Ismaila Sarr's header came back off the post.

Sarr then equaled Roger Milla's record for the most goals by an African player at a single World Cup with his fourth of the tournament, but a late collapse allowed Belgium to pull off an unlikely escape act.

"We had the game in hand, we were leading 2-0 and we sat back a bit towards the end, I think, because we wanted to protect the lead," said Thiaw.

"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."

Thiaw didn't want to be drawn into a debate over the penalty decision, but he felt his side was hard done by.

Memories of Senegal's walk-off protest following a late penalty award in the Africa Cup of Nations final in Morocco in January resurfaced, but this time there was no such reaction.

"When we looked at it, our interpretation was that there was no penalty. The players tried to contest it. It's their right, (but) they respected the referee's decision," said Thiaw.

"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 it, even if it's difficult."

AFP