England and Belgium ended African dreams at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Wednesday night after surviving two dramatic Round of 32 encounters against DR Congo and Senegal respectively.
It was a painful evening for the continent as two of Africa’s biggest footballing nations came within touching distance of famous victories before late European fightbacks brought their campaigns to an emotional end. The double elimination leaves African hopes at the tournament hanging by a thread.
AFRICAN HEARTBREAK AS DR CONGO FALL FROM FIFA WORLD CUP LAST 32
DR Congo looked set to produce one of the biggest shocks of the tournament when Brian Cipenga fired them into an early lead against England at Atlanta Stadium after just seven minutes.
The Leopards, brilliantly marshalled by captain Chancel Mbemba, frustrated Thomas Tuchel’s side for much of the contest with disciplined defending and dangerous counter-attacks. England struggled to create meaningful opportunities as the African side protected their advantage with tremendous composure.
The turning point arrived when Tuchel introduced Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon from the bench. The substitutions transformed the match, with Gordon providing two superb crosses for Harry Kane.
The England captain headed home the equaliser in the 75th minute before completing his brace 11 minutes later to seal a crushing 2-1 victory and end DR Congo’s brave run.
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SENEGAL LET TWO-GOAL LEAD SLIP
If DR Congo’s exit was painful, Senegal’s was simply heartbreaking.
The Lions of Teranga appeared to have one foot in the Round of 16 after Habib Diarra opened the scoring in the 24th minute before Ismaïla Sarr doubled the advantage shortly after halftime following excellent work from Moussa Niakhaté.
With Belgium staring at elimination, they turned to experienced striker Romelu Lukaku, and everything changed.
Lukaku pulled one back in the 86th minute before Youri Tielemans struck a dramatic equaliser three minutes later to force extra time.
Just when penalties seemed inevitable, Belgium were awarded a stoppage-time penalty after a VAR review in the 120th minute. Tielemans kept his cool from the spot to complete an astonishing comeback and hand Belgium a 3-2 victory.
The results mean England will now face Mexico in the Round of 16, while Belgium march on after surviving one of the biggest scares of the knockout stage.
