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    <title>Aaj TV English News - Sports</title>
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    <copyright>Copyright 2026</copyright>
    <pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2026 16:47:22 +0500</pubDate>
    <lastBuildDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2026 16:47:22 +0500</lastBuildDate>
    <ttl>60</ttl>
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      <title>Belgium stage stunning comeback to sink Senegal in extra time</title>
      <link>https://english.aaj.tv/news/330461949/belgium-stage-stunning-comeback-to-sink-senegal-in-extra-time</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Youri Tielemans struck a 125th-minute penalty as Belgium rallied from ​two goals down and defeated Senegal 3-2 after extra time in their World Cup last 32 clash in Seattle on Wednesday ‌to keep alive their title hopes that had looked dead and buried.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Senegal’s Lamine Camara slid in on Tielemans as the ball flashed across the face of the goal and conceded the spot kick after a video assistant referee review, with the Belgian picking out the top corner to complete an extraordinary comeback.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Habib Diarra and ​Ismaila Sarr had given Senegal a deserved 2-0 lead, and they looked to be cruising through to the next round ​before Belgium netted twice in the final four minutes through Romelu Lukaku and a Tielemans header to ⁠force extra time.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Belgium now face the winner of Wednesday’s last-32 clash between co-hosts United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the ​next round in Seattle on Monday.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Lukaku looked set to take the penalty but at the last minute handed the ball to captain Tielemans.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“We ​talked for a while. Romelu said, ’Take it. ‘ And I was ready to take it,” Tielemans told Sporza.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“I am very proud to be captain of this team. We are all winners and try to do our best. Will we analyse this match tomorrow? I hope the day after tomorrow, first a day ​off!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The midfielder believed it was the players off the bench who made the difference.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“We fell behind, and then it’s up to us to ​try to show a reaction. We did,” he said. “It was the bench players who made the difference again, especially for that first goal. Everyone gives ‌everything, and ⁠sometimes it works better than other times.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It was cruel on Senegal, who controlled much of the 90 minutes and also struck the woodwork twice, but could not see out the game.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;When they broke the deadlock in the 25th minute, it was no surprise. Sadio Mane’s cross was headed goalwards by Sarr, but his effort came off the post again.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This time the loose ball fell kindly for Diarra, and he ​side-footed home from seven yards.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;&lt;a id="lukaku-is-at-halftime" href="#lukaku-is-at-halftime" class="heading-permalink" aria-hidden="true" title="Permalink"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Lukaku is at halftime.&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Belgium brought on ⁠Lukaku for the ineffective Charles De Ketelaere at halftime, but were soon 2-0 down.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A stunning long pass from Moussa Niakhate was brilliantly controlled on the chest of Sarr, who held off two defenders before ​thundering the ball into the net in the 51st minute.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Belgium struggled to create clear-cut chances until the ​final five minutes ⁠and almost out of nowhere turned the game on its head.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;First, Lukaku turned the ball in at the near post from Thomas Meunier’s low cross, and Leandro Trossard’s ball into the box from deep was headed into the net by Tielemans.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Those two had been involved in a heated ⁠exchange earlier ​in the match, but it was all smiles and hugs when the equaliser went ​in, before Tielemans was central again in the winner.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“I believe that our team deserved it (to win),” Senegal coach Pape Thiaw said. “Unfortunately, we are eliminated. I’m extremely sad, so ​are the players. They did deserve the win, but it didn’t work out in our favour today.”&lt;/p&gt;
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      <content:encoded xmlns="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"><![CDATA[<p><strong>Youri Tielemans struck a 125th-minute penalty as Belgium rallied from ​two goals down and defeated Senegal 3-2 after extra time in their World Cup last 32 clash in Seattle on Wednesday ‌to keep alive their title hopes that had looked dead and buried.</strong></p>
<p>Senegal’s Lamine Camara slid in on Tielemans as the ball flashed across the face of the goal and conceded the spot kick after a video assistant referee review, with the Belgian picking out the top corner to complete an extraordinary comeback.</p>
<p>Habib Diarra and ​Ismaila Sarr had given Senegal a deserved 2-0 lead, and they looked to be cruising through to the next round ​before Belgium netted twice in the final four minutes through Romelu Lukaku and a Tielemans header to ⁠force extra time.</p>
<p>Belgium now face the winner of Wednesday’s last-32 clash between co-hosts United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the ​next round in Seattle on Monday.</p>
<p>Lukaku looked set to take the penalty but at the last minute handed the ball to captain Tielemans.</p>
<p>“We ​talked for a while. Romelu said, ’Take it. ‘ And I was ready to take it,” Tielemans told Sporza.</p>
<p>“I am very proud to be captain of this team. We are all winners and try to do our best. Will we analyse this match tomorrow? I hope the day after tomorrow, first a day ​off!</p>
<p>The midfielder believed it was the players off the bench who made the difference.</p>
<p>“We fell behind, and then it’s up to us to ​try to show a reaction. We did,” he said. “It was the bench players who made the difference again, especially for that first goal. Everyone gives ‌everything, and ⁠sometimes it works better than other times.”</p>
<p>It was cruel on Senegal, who controlled much of the 90 minutes and also struck the woodwork twice, but could not see out the game.</p>
<p>When they broke the deadlock in the 25th minute, it was no surprise. Sadio Mane’s cross was headed goalwards by Sarr, but his effort came off the post again.</p>
<p>This time the loose ball fell kindly for Diarra, and he ​side-footed home from seven yards.</p>
<h3><a id="lukaku-is-at-halftime" href="#lukaku-is-at-halftime" class="heading-permalink" aria-hidden="true" title="Permalink"></a>Lukaku is at halftime.</h3>
<p>Belgium brought on ⁠Lukaku for the ineffective Charles De Ketelaere at halftime, but were soon 2-0 down.</p>
<p>A stunning long pass from Moussa Niakhate was brilliantly controlled on the chest of Sarr, who held off two defenders before ​thundering the ball into the net in the 51st minute.</p>
<p>Belgium struggled to create clear-cut chances until the ​final five minutes ⁠and almost out of nowhere turned the game on its head.</p>
<p>First, Lukaku turned the ball in at the near post from Thomas Meunier’s low cross, and Leandro Trossard’s ball into the box from deep was headed into the net by Tielemans.</p>
<p>Those two had been involved in a heated ⁠exchange earlier ​in the match, but it was all smiles and hugs when the equaliser went ​in, before Tielemans was central again in the winner.</p>
<p>“I believe that our team deserved it (to win),” Senegal coach Pape Thiaw said. “Unfortunately, we are eliminated. I’m extremely sad, so ​are the players. They did deserve the win, but it didn’t work out in our favour today.”</p>
]]></content:encoded>
      <category>Sports</category>
      <guid>https://english.aaj.tv/news/330461949</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2026 14:14:54 +0500</pubDate>
      <author>none@none.com (Reuters)</author>
      <media:content url="https://i.aaj.tv/large/2026/07/0214141831ea2d6.webp" type="image/webp" medium="image" height="615" width="960">
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        <media:title>Belgium's Romelu Lukaku. -- Reuters</media:title>
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