New Delhi, July 2 -- SEATTLE - At the 85th minute of Belgium's round-of-32 match at Seattle Stadium, the oldest squad at the 2026 World Cup was two goals down against Senegal, without Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku, who had both come off at the hour mark, and four minutes from elimination. That is not a position from which teams recover. Belgium recovered.

Belgium 3, Senegal 2 after extra time. The margin between a Belgian round-of-16 berth and an early exit was four minutes of normal time and a foul at the edge of the penalty area in the 117th minute.

Senegal earned their lead methodically. Habib Diarra opened the scoring in the 25th minute and Ismaila Sarr doubled it in the 51st, both goals arriving against a Belgian side that had lo...