Senegal face Belgium in Seattle as knockout stage begins
Win or go home: Senegal face Belgium in Seattle
Your team plays Belgium in the World Cup round of 32 Wednesday at 22:00 Belgian time (1) (6) (13). Seattle is the stage. Belgium won their group. Senegal scraped through as one of the best third-placed teams (6). The winner faces either USA or Bosnia and Herzegovina in the next round (5).
Thiaw: "Belgium are favourites, but this is a new competition"
Coach Pape Thiaw is not hiding from the challenge. "Belgium are the favourites. They won their group and are higher in the FIFA ranking, while we only narrowly qualified as the best third-placed team. But in this knockout phase, a new competition begins. We will make it very difficult for them," he said (6). Thiaw knows his counterpart Rudi Garcia well from their time at Saint-Etienne (12).
Garcia on Thiaw: "I'm happy for him, but I will beat him"
Belgium coach Rudi Garcia was full of praise for Thiaw and your team. "Of course I love Pape, but I had forgotten how he started at Saint-Etienne. I'm happy for him, but I will beat him, so sorry for him," Garcia said with a laugh (12). He also pushed back against the Belgian press calling his squad "has beens" ahead of this match (2). Garcia is keeping his starting lineup secret, saying only that Belgium must rely on their own strengths (4).
Diouf: "We are going to beat Belgium"
STVV striker Oumar Diouf is not short on confidence. "I am sure of it: we are going to beat Belgium!" he said (10). Diouf plays his club football in Belgium, which adds a layer of spice to this knockout tie.
Belgium trained on penalties
Charles De Ketelaere confirmed that Belgium have been practicing penalties ahead of the match (11). With no extra time in World Cup knockout matches, a shootout is a real possibility. De Ketelaere also said he is not desperately chasing a goal, but the preparation tells you Belgium respect what your team brings (9).
Lukaku calls it one of the hardest matches of the tournament
Romelu Lukaku is not looking past Senegal. He called this "one of the most difficult matches at this World Cup" (8). Brazilian outlet ge.globo has Édouard Mendy and Mory Diaw in your squad, and Nathan Ngoy, Theate, and Lukaku starting for Belgium (7). Lukaku's words carry weight, he knows what African champions bring to a knockout fight.
Sources
- 1. hln.be — Bondscoach Rudi Garcia voor de clash met Senegal: “We gaan vasthouden aan wat goed draait”, dit is de vermoedelijke opstelling
- 2. theguardian.com — Belgium’s leaders backed to disprove ‘has beens’ tag in Senegal challenge
- 4. nieuwsblad.be — Dit zijn de vermoedelijke elf Rode Duivels tegen Senegal: de bondscoach kan drie wissels doorvoeren, maar doet er wellicht géén
- 5. hln.be — Frankrijk treft Paraguay, clash tussen Brazilië en Noorwegen in volgende ronde: deze affiches in 1/16de finales staan nog op het programma
- 6. sporza.be — LIVESTREAM (22 uur): Tactisch steekspel in de maak? Senegal-bondscoach Thiaw schuift favorietenrol naar Rode Duivels
- 7. ge.globo.com — Bélgica x Senegal: onde assistir ao vivo, horário e escalações
- 8. voetbalprimeur.nl — Lukaku zet België op scherp: 'Een van de moeilijkste wedstrijden op dit WK'
- 9. nieuwsblad.be — Vijf vragen aan Charles De Ketelaere: “Ik hunker niet enorm naar die goal”
- 10. nieuwsblad.be — “Wij gaan België verslaan”: STVV-spits vol vertrouwen voor clash tussen Rode Duivels en Senegal
- 11. sporza.be — "We hebben getraind op penalty's, ja": Rudi Garcia en De Ketelaere blikken laatste keer vooruit op clash met Senegal
- 12. ge.globo.com — Rudi Garcia, da Bélgica, elogia Senegal na Copa e treinador rival: "Feliz por ele, mas vou derrotá-lo"
- 13. sportsidioten.no — Belgia – Senegal | 16-delsfinale Fotball VM 2026