Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw has admitted his side’s desperation to protect their lead contributed to their dramatic 3-2 defeat to Belgium in the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The Teranga Lions looked on course for the Round of 16 after racing into a two-goal lead through Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr.

However, Belgium mounted a late comeback, with Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans scoring in the closing stages of the second half to force the match into extra time, where the Europeans completed the turnaround to eliminate Senegal from the tournament.

Reflecting on the defeat, Thiaw said his players became too focused on defending their advantage instead of sticking to their game plan, a decision that ultimately proved costly.

With few seconds left to a penalty shoot-out, Rudi Garcia’s men were awarded a late spot-kick, which Tielemans calmly converted.

Thiaw said: ​”We had the match in hand, winning 2-0, and then we backed off a little towards the end; we wanted to hold onto the score.

“Once we conceded 2-1, we retreated even more and they scored their second goal.

“It wasn’t easy; we tried to lift their spirits and bring more energy to the team.

“It’s not easy because they gave it their all; we wanted to qualify for the people.”