Jackson features as Senegal bow out to Belgium at 2026 World Cup

Sarr and Penders were unused substitutes in Seattle while Jackson was brought off the bench early in extra-time, by which point the teams were locked at 2-2.

Habib Diarra had converted a rebound to put Senegal ahead midway through the first half. The Lions of Teranga doubled their advantage shortly after the restart when Moussa Niakhate’s raking long pass was chested down and thumped past Thibaut Courtois by Ismaila Sarr.

Belgium hadn’t mustered much by way of an attacking threat but the introduction of former Blues Diego Moreira and Romelu Lukaku livened them up, and it was Lukaku who kickstarted the comeback in the 86th minute with a close-range finish.

Leandro Trossard and Youri Tielemans combined for the equaliser soon after, and it was the Aston Villa midfielder who settled the last-32 tie in stoppage time at the end of extra-time. He converted a penalty awarded after a lengthy VAR intervention for a foul by Lamine Camara.

It was a heartbreaking way for Senegal to bow out of the World Cup, coming not long after the Confederation of African Football stripped them of their Africa Cup of Nations title won in Morocco in January. Belgium will play hosts United States of America in Seattle in the early hours of Tuesday morning UK time (1am).

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