Penalty cruelty saves Belgium, dooms Senegal

The controversial incident that was referred to television replays and declared to be a foul committed by Senegalese defender  Lamine Camara (in green) on Belgian player Youri Tielemans that resulted in a disputed penalty awarded from which Belgium scored to win 3-2 and end one of the most dramatic high tension matches in World Cup history.

Relief, was written all over the faces of Belgium supporters and the team’s management after a never-say-die and determined Senegal team was defeated in a knock-out stage match of the World Cup in Seattle, USA on Thursday.

It was a match unlike any other so far in the 2026 global showpiece where heart-burn, heartaches, edge-of-the seat tension, uncontrollable emotions, tear-filled eyes and bitter sadness became inevitable in what will go down in history as one of the most dramatic matches of World Cup football.

With Senegal leading 2-0 in the 85th minute of the 90-minute match and a few minutes of stoppage time to be added, the result to many would have been a foregone conclusion that the Belgians had already booked their plane seats with defeat imminent and Senegal still taking nothing for granted.

But the whole contest took a most sensational turn when Belgium struck twice within the space of three electrifying minutes to draw level 2-2 and take the match into the mandatory extra 30 minutes to break the stalemate.

The World Cup then began to turn on its head and four minutes before the end of extra time the unexpected happened as Senegalese defender Lamine Camara blocked a probable kick at goal by Belgium striker Youri Tielemans that was subsequently declared by the Video Assisted Referee (VRS) as a foul that many may dispute and may come to be known as the most cruel of all penalties awarded and executed by Tielemans himself to give his team a 3-2 win and a place in the last 16.

The match was a boiling cauldron for Belgium’s manager Rudi Garcia who was yellow carded by the referee for his uncontrolled emotions near the line after Belgium scored and equalised 2-2 during normal time.

Senegal had what had eventually become a free-kick that did not find its target seconds before the final whistle was blown but their supporters will have all the right in the world to argue that their team had been robbed of victory with an ensuing penalty-shootout becoming the eventual decider had the match ended 2-2 after extra time.