Belgium miraculously qualified for the Round of 16 of the World Cup on Wednesday night after staging a comeback to beat Senegal 3-2 following extra time.
At 85 minutes, the score was still 0-2 following goals from Senegal's Habib Diarra and Ismaïla Sarr. Senegal outplayed the Red Devils for much of the match, but in three crazy minutes, Belgium managed to turn the deficit around.
Substitute Romelu Lukaku scored in the 86th minute and Youri Tielemans scored a few minutes later in the 89th minute, overturning a double deficit in three frantic minutes at the end of regular time.
During extra time, it looked like Belgium might be heading for a penalty shootout for the first time since 1986, until Tielemans scored from the spot, curling the ball into the top corner when the match clock showed 124 minutes and 44 seconds. In doing so, the captain became the scorer of the latest goal in World Cup history.
Iran's Mehdi Taremi still holds the record for the latest goal in regulation time, scored after 102 minutes and 30 seconds against England (a 6-2 defeat) at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“The victory came from the bench. Everyone helped us. We won as a team of 16. Now it’s recovery, recovery, recovery," said manager Rudi Garcia after the match.
The Red Devils will face the United States on Monday (local time, Tuesday morning at 02:00 Belgian time) in the Round of 16 of the World Cup, once again in Seattle.
Team USA defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 in the Round of 32 in the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday.
