'A serious mistake' - Belgium coach explains how they pounced on Senegal's big weakness as Romelu Lukaku & Co pull off late World Cup comeback win

Belgium completed a remarkable late comeback to defeat Senegal 3-2 in extra time during the World Cup last 32, overturning a two-goal deficit with just five minutes of normal time remaining. Head coach Rudi Garcia attributed the dramatic turnaround to a tactical shift by Senegal that proved costly.

Garcia pointed to Senegal's decision to drop back and protect their lead as the key turning point. "We know these teams they lose their tactical control towards the end of the match," Garcia said. "At 2-0 we knew they would do everything to protect their goal which in my opinion is a serious mistake. Remind me when we're 2-0 up not to do that. Because when you concede a goal like they did at 2-1 the game changed completely and we were able to equalize."

When pressed on his remarks, Garcia clarified that his analysis applied to any team defending a lead. "I said that when you're ahead and that's the case for all teams in the world you tend to drop back and try to protect your goal," he explained. "We pushed forward and they dropped back. And I think if we hadn't scored the second goal we would never have come back."

Lukaku scored at the 86th minute to make it 2-1, before Youri Tielemans equalized three minutes later. The match proceeded to extra time, where Belgium eventually outlasted Senegal. However, it was Tielemans again who became the hero, converting a penalty to seal Belgium's passage to the round of 16.

Romelu Lukaku, Belgium's all-time leading scorer, remarkably chose not to take the decisive penalty. The Napoli forward explained his decision: "I was going to shoot but I'm still going through difficult moments mentally and I preferred that Youri take it. It's not me who counts it's the team that must win."

Lukaku's difficult mental state reflected a challenging season at Napoli, managing only 64 minutes of competitive action. Despite the defeat, Garcia praised Senegal's performance, saying: "When we score the goal for 2-1 the match changes its soul as we say in French." Belgium will now face the United States in the round of 16.