Belgium Coach Salutes Tielemans After World Cup Rescue Act

Seattle : Belgium coach Rudi Garcia saluted captain Youri Tielemans after the midfielder’s last-gasp penalty completed a surprising 3-2 comeback win against Senegal in the World Cup last 32 on Wednesday.

Senegal looked set to take a place in the next round after taking a two-goal lead with five minutes remaining, but Belgium produced a dramatic fightback with strikes from Romelu Lukaku and Tielemans to force extra time in Seattle.

Tielemans took the penalty in the 125th minute and took Belgium to the last 16.

The Aston Villa player faced a lengthy delay before striking as Senegalese players surrounded the pitch, but he calmly parried his effort to prevent an unlikely comeback.

“The important thing is that Youri Tielemans has composure and quality. And once again, we have the experience to take this kind of penalty, because it is not easy,” Garcia said.

“At 2-2, in the 120th minute, even later, when you’re tired and Youri is feeling it physically, it’s a tough job to go and score that penalty. He did it.

“As a result, he took us to the round of 16. Congratulations to our captain. I thought he was outstanding.”

Belgium will remain in Seattle to co-host with the United States or Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 6 for a place in the quarterfinals.

For much of the afternoon, it looked like the curtain was about to close on the last remnants of Belgium’s golden generation – Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and perhaps goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois; these helped the country finish third in the 2018 World Cup.

Instead, a late act of defiance from the Red Devils means they survive to fight another day.

“To go down 2-0 and then come back and make it 2-2 gives you a lot of momentum and the journey continues now,” Garcia said.

“It’s true that a scenario like this can bring a group closer together.

“This can help players understand that, as we have shown, anything can happen until the match is over and the final whistle blows.”

– ‘He disappeared’ –

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

Habib Diarra grabbed the rebound after Ismaila Sarr’s header came back off the post.

Sarr then equaled Roger Milla’s record for the most goals scored by an African player in a single World Cup with his fourth of the tournament, but a late collapse allowed Belgium to make an improbable breakaway move.

“We had the game in our hands, we were leading 2-0 and I think we fell behind a little bit towards the end because we wanted to keep the lead,” Thiaw said.

“After getting the score 2-1, we fell deeper and they scored the second goal. It was not easy, we tried to stand on our own feet, but unfortunately it did not work.”

Thiaw did not want to be drawn into a controversy over the penalty decision but felt his side were left in a difficult situation.

Memories of Senegal’s secession protest resurfaced after the penalty decision at the African Cup of Nations final in Morocco in January, but this time there was no such reaction.

Thiaw said, “When we looked at it, our comment was that it was not a penalty. The players tried to object to it. This is their right, but they respected the referee’s decision.”

“It’s not easy to lose this kind of match… unfortunately it escaped us but this is football, it’s brutal, it’s not easy at all but even if it’s hard you have to accept it.”