Written by: Mohammed Omran
The Democratic Republic of Congo and Senegal national teams have been eliminated from the tournament. 2026 World CupAfter a painful loss despite leading early in their matches, thus dashing great hopes of continuing their journey towards the advanced rounds.
Is the African dream collapsing at the last minute against Senegal and Congo?
The Democratic Republic of Congo exited after their 2-1 defeat against England, in a match that saw exciting turns. Senegal fell to Belgium 3-2, after leading by two goals until the final minutes, before Belgium turned the score around in decisive moments.
Senegal advances and collapses against Belgium, and Congo loses its surprise.
After coming close to pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the 2026 World Cup, the Democratic Republic of Congo were knocked out of the tournament on Wednesday after a 2-1 loss to England.
Harry Kane saved England from an early exit by scoring two second-half goals in the Round of 32 match in Atlanta.
His first goal came in the 75th minute, following a cross from the left side sent by substitute Anthony Gordon. Although Congo's goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi touched the ball, he was unable to clear it, and it settled in the lower corner of the net.
And after 11 minutes, Kane returned to score a brilliant goal in the top corner, crushing any hopes of an upset.
And Brian Sepinga had put the Congo team ahead early in the seventh minute, after a low shot inside the penalty area that went into the net of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford at the near post.
M'Bappa made a great effort to maintain his team's lead, dealing with several dangerous chances, most notably three shots from Jude Bellingham. He also saved two dangerous headers before the end of the first half, in addition to another save after the break.
The Congolese also had a chance to extend their lead when Yoane Wissa's shot hit the post in the first half.
Congo national team coach Sébastien Desabre said, “We are disappointed because we truly believed in our ability to win. We played well, but in the last few minutes, we missed scoring opportunities, while one of the world's best players scored two goals against us. It's unfortunate.”.
The Congolese national team, ranked 46th in the world, made history by scoring its first goal, point, and victory in the World Cup, 52 years after its only previous appearance when it participated under the name Zaire in the 1974 tournament in West Germany.
Senegal vs. Belgium
In another match, the Senegal national team bid farewell to the tournament against Belgium, despite leading by two goals with five minutes left in the match.
Habib Diallo opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, and Ismaïla Sarr added the second goal half an hour later from inside the penalty area.
But Belgium came back in the final moments, with Romelu Lukaku scoring a goal, then Youri Tielemans equalizing, before adding the winning goal from a penalty in extra time, ending the match 3-2 in favor of Belgium.
Defender Pape Abdoulaye Diatta said: “We were writing a historic page for football in our country, but we have to accept that we did not succeed in our mission.”.
Senegal could have become the second African team to reach the round of 16 in the tournament.
Senegal qualified for the knockout stages as one of the best third-placed teams, after losing to France and Norway, and defeating Iraq, and delivered a strong performance for most of their match against Belgium.
But Lukaku's goal in the final minutes brought Belgium back into the game, before a penalty kick in extra time decided the result, and Senegal's players protested the decision to no avail.
Diata praised Belgium's comeback, emphasizing that his team should have decided the match earlier, saying: “They proved they can come back, but we take responsibility. We should have won this match, and in such confrontations, you must not give the opponent any chance.”.
