Kane and Gordon save England from upset
England's national team conceded first: Congolese Tsipengα opened the scoring and forced the British to get nervous. But ultimately, the match was decided by a duo from the Premier League: Anthony Gordon picked up a rebound after the goalkeeper's save and flicked the ball to Harry Kane, who fired accurately into the corner — 2:1.
A symbolic detail noted by Opta: this goal became the 100th goal scored by Premier League players in the 2025/26 World Cup season — the milestone moment fell precisely to Gordon and Kane.
In the Round of 16, England will face the tournament co-hosts — Mexico.
Latest goal in World Cup history
The Belgium vs Senegal match in Seattle developed according to a completely different scenario. Habib Diarra (25th minute) and Ismaïla Sarr (51st minute) put the "Teranga Lions" ahead — 2:0. Eight minutes before the end, Belgium appeared doomed.
"For 86 out of 90 minutes, it was an almost one-sided movement towards Belgium's goal"
Opta Analyst
But in the 86th minute, Romelu Lukaku scored after coming off the bench, and in the 89th, Youri Tielemans capitalized on goalkeeper Mory Dia's error — 2:2. Extra time resolved nothing until the very end: in the 117th minute, Lamine Camara fouled Tielemans in the penalty area. After a lengthy VAR review, the referee awarded a penalty.
Tielemans converted it in the 125th minute — this is the latest goal in World Cup history.
- Diarra became the first Senegalese player to score in the first two matches of a World Cup from the opening minutes
- Sarr equaled the African players' record — 4 goals in one tournament (like Roger Milla in 1990)
- De Bruyne was substituted off in the 56th minute — the earliest in his entire World Cup career
Belgium will face the USA in the Round of 16, who on the same day defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina and qualified from the playoff round for the first time since 2002.
Controversial final and an open question
The penalty in the 117th minute has already sparked debate: ESPN published a separate article with the headline "Did Belgium deserve the penalty that decided the match against Senegal?" Camara contested the decision, but VAR confirmed it.
If Belgium faces the USA with Balogan disqualified after a red card — the Americans will take the field without their main forward. Will the "Red Devils" have enough of this advantage to finally look convincing, rather than just surviving?
