Tielemans's ice-cool finish capped one of the tournament's greatest comebacks, with Belgium recovering from a two-goal deficit to book their place in the Round of 16
Youri Tielemans etched his name into FIFA World Cup history by scoring the latest winning goal ever recorded, converting a penalty after 124 minutes and 44 seconds to seal Belgium's remarkable 3-2 victory over Senegal in an extraordinary Round of 32 clash on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the latest goal ever scored in regular time at a FIFA World Cup was by Mehdi Taremi, who found the net for Iran against England in the 90+13th minute at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
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Tielemans's ice-cool finish capped one of the tournament's greatest comebacks, with Belgium recovering from a two-goal deficit to book their place in the Round of 16 after appearing on the brink of elimination for much of the contest.
Senegal had seized complete control in Seattle through first-half scorer Habib Diarra before Ismaila Sarr doubled the advantage shortly after the restart. The Lions of Teranga looked destined to reach the knockout-stage victory they had long sought as Belgium struggled to create meaningful chances.
The momentum shifted dramatically in the closing stages. Romelu Lukaku sparked the revival in the 85th minute by finishing off a sweeping move before Tielemans headed home the equaliser just three minutes later to force extra time.
With penalties seemingly inevitable, Belgium found one final opportunity deep into stoppage time of extra time. A VAR review awarded the Red Devils a spot-kick after Tielemans was brought down inside the area, and the midfielder calmly dispatched the penalty with virtually the last kick of the game.
Belgium is back in the round of 16 for the third time in four tournaments. The team reached the quarterfinals in 2014 and the semifinals in 2018 but failed to get out of the group stage four years ago in Qatar.
The Belgians will next face either the United States or Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday in Santa Clara, California.
Published: 02 Jul 2026, 05:00 am IST
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