By Staff Reporter
A disappointing end for Senegal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who both had their opponents on the ropes before seeing their World Cup dreams evaporate.
After threatening to pull of one of biggest upsets of the 2026 World Cup, DR Congo crashed out of the tournament on Wednesday after a 2-1 loss to England.
Harry Kane saved England from an early exit from with two second-half goals in a in the round of 32 in Atlanta.
His first goal came in the 75th minute. Substitute Anthony Gordon lifted a cross from the left and despite Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi getting a hand to Kane’s header, he didn’t stop it from nestling into the bottom corner.
Eleven minutes later, Kane sent his shot into the top corner to put the thoughts of an upset to rest.
Congo’s Brian Cipenga dribbles past England’s Djed Spence during a World Cup round of 32 soccer match in Atlanta, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. Mike Stewart/Copyright 2026 The AP. All rights reserved.
Brian Cipenga had put Congo in the lead in the seventh minute after collecting a cross on the left of the box and shooting low past England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford at the near post.
Mpasi did his best to keep that 1-0 lead alive. He denied Jude Bellingham on three occasions — blocking two close-range headers before halftime and then clawing away another deflected effort after the break.
Congo had a chance to double its lead when Yoane Wissa hit the post in the first half.
“We’re disappointed because we really believed we could do it,” Congo coach Sébastien Desabre said. “We played well. Towards the end of the match, we conceded two chances and one of the world’s best players scored two goals against us. It’s a shame.”
The 46th-ranked Congo team had already made history with its first goal, point and win at a World Cup, 52 years after its only previous appearance when competing as Zaire at the 1974 tournament in West Germany.
Senegal v Belgium
Senegal also succumbed to Belgium, despite a two goal lead over Belgium with just five minutes left in the game.
Habib Diarra put Senegal in the lead in the 23rd minute. Ismaila Sarr doubled the lead 30 minutes later from deep inside Senegal’s half.
But late goals by Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans tied the score in the final minutes of regulation time, and Tielemans completed Belgium’s 3-2 comeback win by converting a penalty just before the end of extra time.
“We were at the heart of writing the beautiful pages of the history of our football in this world,” defender Krépin Diatta said. “And, we have to accept that we failed at our mission.”
The Lions of Teranga would have been the second African team in the tournament to advance to the round of 16.
Senegal’s Ismaila Sarr (18) is congratulated after scoring his side’s 2nd goal during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Belgium and Senegal, Seattle, July 1, 2026 Lindsey Wasson/Copyright 2026 The AP. All rights reserved.
Morocco, one of nine African teams which reached the knockout round, already advanced with a penalty shootout victory against the Netherlands on Monday. But now, Senegal is shockingly headed home.
“We’re disappointed,” Senegal midfieder Habib Diarra said. “We had a good first half, but it wasn’t enough. A match lasts 90 minutes, and we’re devastated. It’s very tough. I don’t know what to say. When you’re on the pitch, you have to give your all, and that’s not what we did. We’ve only got ourselves to blame.”
Senegal advanced to the World Cup knockout phase as one of the best third-place finishers after losing to France and Norway and beating Iraq. It survived one of the toughest groups in the tournament, and looked the part of one of the stronger teams in the World Cup most of the afternoon against Belgium.
Lukaku’s late goal injected life into Belgium, though, and kept the Group G winners on life support before the referee awarded Belgium a penalty deep into extra time.
Senegal’s players protested the decision, but to no avail.
Diatta gave credit to Belgium for turning the game around, but said Senegal shouldn’t have let it happen.
“They (did) the job and they proved they can come back. I think the problem was our side,” Diatta said. “We had to win this game. These kinds of tight games in the box, we have to give everything and not give them a chance.”
Source: African News
