The African continent was dealt a major blow after two more countries were knocked out of the 2026 World Cup on Wednesday night. Senegal and the DR Congo joined Ivory Coast as the three African countries that are packing their bags and are going home in the last two days.
Last night (Wednesday), Senegal were defeated in heartbreaking fashion after they lost 3-2 to Belgium in a match that they should have won. The Lions of Terenga, as Senegal is affectionately known, squandered a 2-0 lead with less than five minutes remaining before the final whistle. But their lackadaisical attitude allowed the Belgians to pull one back from substituted Romelu Lukaku who stroked the ball home from close range in the 86th minute.
This is after the Africans had taken a comfortable 2-0 lead from Mouhamadou Diarra and Ismaila Sarr in the match. On the stroke of fulltime, Senegal defenders again allowed Belgium’s forward Youri Tielemans to sneak in the equalizer, making it 2-2 and taking the game to extra time. It was the same Tielemans who broke the Senegalese’s hearts when he scored the winning goal via a penalty kick.
Said Senegal coach Pape Thiaw after the match: “We’re out – it hurts. We must congratulate the team, who gave it their all, but unfortunately we weren’t able to hold on to our two-goal lead. Congratulations to the Belgian team, who have gone through. We have to accept this – that’s football.”
In the earlier match played at Atlanta Stadium, DR Congo also blew a good opportunity to advance to the Last-16 of the tournament when they allowed England to come back from behind and win 2-1. The Congolese took an early lead in the sixth via the boot of Brian Cipenga who beat England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford hands down with a powerful shot.
However, captain fantastic Harry Kane led from the front and took matters into his own hands when he equalized with a pin-point header. And as the clock ticked, Kane hammered the final nail with a rocket that left DR Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi rooted to the ground.
“It feels amazing to be honest. What a crazy game,” Kane told BBC. “They are a tough team, and then after that first break we were much better, and their keeper made some unbelievable saves. We spoke about people having hero moments, and it can be anyone. It was me today. We spoke all week about just being ourselves. There are still things to work on for sure and these rounds are just about getting through. We are in the part of the tournament when you have to grind wins out, and that’s what we have done today.”
On Tuesday, the Elephants of Ivory Coast also fell 2-1 to Norway. This means that the three African giants, touted to go far in the competition, have failed to make an impression, and they exit the tournament in these early rounds. Morocco is the only team so far from the motherland that has booked their ticket to the Last-16 after they nailed the Netherlands 3-2 via penalty kicks.
- Senegal and DR Congo were eliminated from the 2026 World Cup following narrow defeats, joining Ivory Coast out of the tournament.
- Senegal lost 3-2 to Belgium after surrendering a 2-0 lead late in the match, with Youri Tielemans scoring the decisive penalty in extra time.
- DR Congo took an early lead against England but eventually lost 2-1, with Harry Kane scoring the equalizer and winning goal.
- Ivory Coast was also knocked out after a 2-1 defeat to Norway, marking a disappointing early exit for three major African teams.
- Morocco remains the only African team to advance to the Last-16, having defeated the Netherlands 3-2 on penalties.
