Belgium Pull Off a Miracle Against Senegal — and Courtois Can't Help Thinking of Real Madrid: 'I've Lived This Many Times'
Lukaku and Tielemans starred in a historic comeback. Courtois compared Belgium's miracle to Real Madrid's epic Champions League nights.
Two goals down, the clock showing 85 minutes, and everything seemed lost. But Belgium hadn't read the script — and went on to write one of the wildest chapters of this World Cup.
The Red Devils turned the game around against Senegal in the final minutes of normal time and advanced to the round of sixteen after a breathless period of extra time. Lukaku pulled one back in the 86th minute, Tielemans equalised in the 89th, and the same Tielemans — who completed a historic brace — converted the decisive penalty in the 125th minute to seal qualification.
On the goal that reignited Belgian hope, Lukaku made no effort to hide his emotion. "Creo que es mi padre ayudándome desde allá arriba," said the striker, in a quote that travelled around the world. "Fue intenso, pero demostramos espíritu," he added.
For Courtois, the scene felt familiar. The Real Madrid goalkeeper has lived through nights like this in European competition — and wasted no time drawing the connection. "Eso lo he vivido muchas veces con el Real Madrid," he said after the final whistle, according to Marca. And he went straight to the example: "Recuerdo una semifinal de la Champions League en la que Rodrygo marcó dos goles en los últimos minutos."
Senegal leave the World Cup with their heads held high, but without the qualification that had seemed all but guaranteed. Golmetria's model still gave the Senegalese a 36.85% chance of reaching the round of sixteen before this match — and they were on the verge of confirming their favourites' status when the scoreboard read 2–0.
Now Belgium breathe again and dare to dream. And Brazil — whom the model gives a 61.43% chance of reaching the quarter-finals — are watching closely: a side that knows how to overturn impossible scorelines is always dangerous, whatever the result might suggest.
Who will cross paths with the Red Devils in the round of sixteen?